Clovis-Edmond Masson studied at the acclaimed École des Beaux-Arts (School of Fine Arts) in France, frequently exhibiting his work at the Paris Salon. Working in a period of increasing interest in emotion and drama in the Romanticism movement (1790-1850), Masson followed the teachings of Antoine-Louis Barye and became associated with the group Les Animaliers (The Animalists). The paintings and sculptures of Les Animaliers captured the wild energy and temperament of nature. Their work rejected the stiff tranquility and formality of Neoclassicism (1770-1830). Tigers Fighting Over an Antelope is exemplary of this movement. Claws and fangs tear at muscle as two tigers viciously duel over the limp body of the antelope in a dramatic depiction of instinct and nature.
