An Art Deco etching by Georges-Lucien Guyot showing a tiger at rest. The animal lies low with its forepaws stretched out in front, and it gazes straight ahead with heavy-lidded eyes. Guyot models the massive body in soft, layered tones of black and grey, with the stripes following the curve of its muscles, and he sets the figure against a bare background. The large forepaw in the foreground gives the composition depth and a strong presence.
Guyot was one of the leading French animaliers of the interwar period, and he worked as a painter, sculptor, and printmaker. He spent long hours sketching live animals at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, and big cats were his favorite subject. He is best known for his bronze sculptures of panthers, pumas, and bears, and his prints show the same strong sense of form and the same simplified, modern line.