A tiger crouches in a tangle of storm-tossed jungle, back arched and teeth bared, as lightning flashes across the sky. Rain falls over everything in fine silver-gray streaks, which Henri Rousseau painted last, over the finished picture, much as Japanese woodblock prints show rain. It was the first of about 20 jungle paintings by Rousseau, who never left France: the plants are a mix of house plants and the tropical species he saw at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. The National Gallery notes that it is unclear whether the tiger is cowering from the storm or stalking prey, and darkened areas above the tall grasses at right may be traces of prey that Rousseau painted out. Shown at the 1891 Salon des Indépendants as Surpris!, it prompted the first serious critical response to his work, from the young artist Félix Vallotton.

It is in the National Gallery in London.