a happy mother's day roar

thanks wikimedia commons (image in public domain)

I couldn't resist (my tiger obsession played right into my plans this morning).
This is Eugene Delacroix's 1830 oil "Study for Two Tigers," which has become known as "A Young Tiger Playing with its Mother." (In French, Jeune tigre jouant avec sa mère.) I'm not certain where Delacroix got a look at his tiger models, for he's shown them with elongated bodies and ratlike tails, to say nothing of the unusual narrow slope of their faces. The rich color and vivacity of the image is full-on Delacroix, though. Get a good look at that cub back there trying to get Mom's tail. His own is whipping around in the air while he bunnykicks his giant feet like any kitten. Mom, Mom, hey Mom! Mommmm!
Mom, meanwhile, is still drawing on all her tiger dignity, though you can see in her dark eyes - and that's a very impressive bit of painterly craft there - she's had it about up to here with these hijinks. Remember, that was your mom too once upon a time, so I hope you have sent her a nice haunch of antelope in honor of Mother's Day.