Gustave Surand was born and brought up in Paris, where he studied at the School of Fine Arts. He went on to train under the History Painter Jean-Paul Laurens but did not follow in his master's footsteps. Surand decided to pursue a career of painting animals. He felt a particular affinity towards felines concentrating on wild animals, especially cats. Our depiction of the Tiger from Annam is typical of the artist's dedication to the genre.