ANIMALS IN ART

Animals have long been a favorite subject in art, whether they’re real or fictional. The beauty of animals is their versatility as subjects; they are often used as symbols, but they are often simply
majestic creative muses.
Animals in Art

The use of animals in art is as old as humankind, and animals appear in ancient caves paintings dating back 30,000 to 40,000 years. These ancient paintings depict animals such as bison and deer as a
part of early man’s day-to-day life. Early humans tended to use animals literally in art rather than as symbols, as they depended on animals as food a source rather than a source of religious or spiritual
inspiration. Animals were used as symbols later in history as man became more civilized and animals were seen as more than food. Ancient Egyptians famously used animals to depict deities,
often featuring them in works of art with ornate detailing. For instance, the goddess Bastet was typically shown in a cat form in statues and paintings. Egyptians spared no expense in their animal artwork,
often decorating such works with gold and other precious metals. The use of animals in art became less popular as movements such as the Academic took over. However, the nineteenth century saw
a resurgence of animals in art as the importance of animals as companions to humans grew considerably. This coincided with artists’ attempts to show how people lived their day-to-day lives in
leisure. French Impressionist Edouard Manet famously used people’s everyday interactions with animals in his work, from horse racing in The Races at Longchamp, 1864, to a woman’s bonding with her
pet bird in Woman with Parrot, 1866. Some artists such as George Stubbs made their names with their hyper-realistic animal depictions. Widely known as a horse painter, Stubbs could create stunning
paintings of a multitude of animals, and he caught the eye of King George IV as a result. The king had Stubbs paint a portrait of his scruffy yet lovable pooch in A Rough Dog, 1790. Others took a Surrealist
angle with their animal artwork, as seen in Max Ernst’s The Elephant Celebes, 1921. Regardless of how animals appear, they remain a fixed subject in art around the world.

FAMOUS
 Bull plate 1 by Pablo Picasso, 1945
 Sick Puppy by Normal Rockwell, 1923
 Mares and Foals in a River Landscape by George Stubbs, 1763-68
 A Young Hare by Albrecht Durer, 1502
 Self Portrait with Monkey by Frida Kahlo, 1938

FUN FACTS
 The horse was one of the most common symbols used in the Geometric period of ancient Greece.
 Animals were commonly used in early Medieval jewelry, often in elongated in complex arrangements.
 Mythical beasts rose to prominence in art in the Middle Ages.
 Self Portrait with Monkey by Frida Kahlo, 1938

Monkey is a symbol of lust in Mexican mythology. But in this painting, Self Portrait with a Monkey, it was depicted as a creature with his own soul. He is
tender and gentle and put his arm around Frida's neck. It seems the money wants to protect her. In this portrait, as well as in some of her other portraits she
painted later, she was using a background of big curtain of leaves. With this background , the subject in the painting was pushed towards the viewer. She
borrowed this style from Alfredo Ramos Martinez. 

This painting was commissioned by A. Conger Goodyear, who was the president of the Museum of Modern Art in New York at that time. Conger liked her painting
after seeing her exhibition at the Julien Levy's gallery in October of 1938. His original intention was to buy another painting  Fulang Chang and I but Frida has given
that one to her friend Mary Schapiro Sklar so Frida painted this one for Conger .
I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best.”
- Frida Kahlo
ANIMALS IN ART
Animals have
long been a
favorite subject in
art
 They are often
used as symbols,
but they are often
simply majestic
creative muses.
 The use
of animals in
art is as old as
humankind
Early humans
tended to use
animals literally
in art rather than
as symbols
Animals were
used as symbols
later in history as
man became more
civilized and
animals were seen
as more than
food. Ancient
Egyptians
famously used
animals to depict
deities
The use of
animals in art
became less
popular as
movements such
as the Academic
took over.
 the nineteenth
century saw a
resurgence of
animals in art as
the importance of
animals as
companions to
humans grew
considerably.
Regardless of
how animals
appear, they
remain a fixed
subject in art
around the world.
Monkey is a
symbol of lust
 in Mexican
mythology
 Self Portrait
with a Monkey,
it was depicted
as a creature
with his own
soul