This Tiger Hunt is in many ways similar to the sketch for another painting kept at the Musée d'Orsay: Lion Hunt. The two paintings were produced during the same period, and the first might appear to be a more accomplished version of the second.
The representation of movement and violence is reinforced here by the bright, intense lighting directed on to a few details selected for their significance, in particular the tiger and the fabrics of the clothes animated by the rapid gestures of the men who are attacking the wild beast. The determination of the horse rider, the terror of the horse, and the aggressiveness of the wild cat, bring the cruel game of hunting to fever pitch.
This painting was shown in a retrospective exhibition of the painter's work at the 1889 Universal Exhibition. It condenses all the elements of Delacroix's genius, his scientific use of colours, the freedom of his drawing and the glorified romanticism in his scenes of combat.