Wild animals

Wild animals, because of their impertinent beauty,  have fascinated humans since the beginning of times. This is not surprising given how closely our evolution is linked to that of other species. If domestic animals have been represented many times in art, wild animals also inhabit artworks. Symbols of power and brutality, or fantasized images of distant lands, the subjects of the animal realm are an endless source of inspiration for artists.

In rock art already, humans painted the fauna that surrounded them. However, it was in Antiquity, from Egypt to Greece, that wild animals began to be represented for a specific purpose. Indeed, the animal figure, sacralised and feared, systematically referred to religions and myths. The Egyptian pantheon and its representations were populated by men with animal heads, and many Greek vases were decorated with the effigy of the Hydra or the Minotaur.

With the advent of Christianity, followed by humanism, animals began to be portrayed as submissive and dominated by man. This symbolism was essential for religious messages. The Middle Ages were particularly fascinated by the figure of the unicorn, a poetic and mythical animal. Gradually, however, the representation became more naturalistic, as Renaissance artists attempted to represent nature as realistically as possible, particularly in drawings and engravings. Wild animals were also omnipresent in hunting and war scenes. Some even played with the limit between realism and imagination,for instance Bosh in his 'Garden of Delights'.

One of the most recurring figure of wildlife in art is undoubtedly the lion. In Baroque art in particular, obsessed with exotic animals, the theme of the savannah came up regularly. European colonial enterprises, and the stories of those who returned from the four corners of the world made artists' imaginations bubble. A master in this field, Rubens painted exotic and grandiose hunting scenes, featuring tigers, hippos or crocodiles...

This Orientalist trend made a comeback in the 19th century, with Delacroix distinguished himself in the representation of wild animals, especially tigers. Later on, symbolists such as Gauguin found in the painting of wild animals a way to express their own vision of reality by creating colourful and fantasized worlds. This paved the way for naive art, the most illustrious representative of which was Henri Rousseau, who used an illustrated book on wild animals found at the Galeries Lafayette to populate his paintings with exotic animals that invited escape.

Contemporary art also draws inspiration from the bestiary very regularly. One can think of National Geographic's famous photographs, now on display in museums all around the world. From a more experimental perspective, there is the example of Chinese artist Chang Lei, who had fun representing a wide variety of wildlife in her piece 'Animal Farm'. Jeff Koons, most famous for his Balloon Dogs,  also made the monkey his trademark. However, at a time when the issue of animal ethics is increasingly present, our relationship with animals is at the heart of moral concerns. Contemporary art is often criticised for its use of dead animals or for suspected abuse. Damien Hirst, in particular, created controversy by exhibiting sculptures presenting dead animals floating in blue formol.

But none of that on Artsper, where wildlife is celebrated, as you will be able to see in our selection!

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Painting, Jungle, Daria Borisova

Daria Borisova

Painting - 92 x 61 x 2 cm Painting - 36.2 x 24 x 0.8 inch

€2,112

Painting, Purple life, Mosko

Mosko

Painting - 20 x 20 x 3 cm Painting - 7.9 x 7.9 x 1.2 inch

€450

Painting, The wildcat, Djé WILD art

Djé WILD art

Painting - 80 x 40 x 1.5 cm Painting - 31.5 x 15.7 x 0.6 inch

€600

Painting, Tiger tamer, Mariia Ivanova

Mariia Ivanova

Painting - 100 x 70 x 1.5 cm Painting - 39.4 x 27.6 x 0.6 inch

€624 €561

Sculpture, Jaguar head, Chris Tap

Chris Tap

Sculpture - 21 x 19 x 26 cm Sculpture - 8.3 x 7.5 x 10.2 inch

€3,500

Photography, Black Leopard #2, Brad Wilson

Brad Wilson

Photography - 74 x 58 x 0.1 cm Photography - 29.1 x 22.8 x 0 inch

€2,000

Painting, Blue tiger focus, Mosko

Mosko

Painting - 36 x 55 x 4 cm Painting - 14.2 x 21.7 x 1.6 inch

€1,200

Print, Untitled, Romain Duris

Romain Duris

Print - 44 x 34 cm Print - 17.3 x 13.4 inch

€350

Painting, Roe Deer, Art Vladi

Art Vladi

Painting - 80 x 80 x 4 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 1.6 inch

€1,900

Print, Plan B – Jungle, Mau Mau

Mau Mau

Print - 50 x 70 x 0.1 cm Print - 19.7 x 27.6 x 0 inch

€699

Painting, Bessodia, Florence Dussuyer

Florence Dussuyer

Painting - 130 x 195 x 3 cm Painting - 51.2 x 76.8 x 1.2 inch

€10,000

Painting, Tendresse, M.Cros

M.Cros

Painting - 130 x 97 x 2 cm Painting - 51.2 x 38.2 x 0.8 inch

€2,000

Photography, Just Me, Joachim Schmeisser

Joachim Schmeisser

Photography - 90 x 119.4 x 0.2 cm Photography - 35.4 x 47 x 0.1 inch

€12,029

Painting, Hare 02, Marike Koot

Marike Koot

Painting - 80 x 80 x 1.5 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.6 inch

€1,350

Painting, L'anonyme 1, Jean Le Gac

Jean Le Gac

Painting - 49 x 58 x 0.1 cm Painting - 19.3 x 22.8 x 0 inch

€1,000

Painting, Doe, Ivo Bistrichki

Doe

Ivo Bistrichki

Painting - 30 x 30 x 2 cm Painting - 11.8 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch

€840

Painting, Storm, Andrejs Amelkovics

Andrejs Amelkovics

Painting - 64 x 90 x 1 cm Painting - 25.2 x 35.4 x 0.4 inch

€550

Sculpture, Panthère, Zenoy

Zenoy

Sculpture - 100 x 70 x 30 cm Sculpture - 39.4 x 27.6 x 11.8 inch

€4,000

Sculpture, Le curieux, Clément Covizzi

Clément Covizzi

Sculpture - 27 x 29 x 27 cm Sculpture - 10.6 x 11.4 x 10.6 inch

€1,450

Sculpture, Tête de lion, Ronceval

Ronceval

Sculpture - 23 x 21 x 14 cm Sculpture - 9.1 x 8.3 x 5.5 inch

€1,850

Painting, Sparrow, Adda Donato

Adda Donato

Painting - 140 x 100 cm Painting - 55.1 x 39.4 inch

€1,600

Fine Art Drawings, Cerf IX, Pierre Yermia

Pierre Yermia

Fine Art Drawings - 51 x 36 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 20.1 x 14.2 x 0 inch

€600

Painting, The dance, Maria Korshunova

Maria Korshunova

Painting - 80 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch

€668

Sculpture, Masque 4, Alicia Coste

Alicia Coste

Sculpture - 45.7 x 35.5 x 2 cm Sculpture - 18 x 14 x 0.8 inch

€500

Painting, Tourist Penguino, Penguino

Penguino

Painting - 20.3 x 30.5 x 0.3 cm Painting - 8 x 12 x 0.1 inch

€800

Sculpture, Petit Cerf I, Pierre Yermia

Pierre Yermia

Sculpture - 32 x 16.5 x 8.5 cm Sculpture - 12.6 x 6.5 x 3.3 inch

€3,000

Painting, Chouette, Paul Rebeyrolle

Paul Rebeyrolle

Painting - 130 x 130 x 2 cm Painting - 51.2 x 51.2 x 0.8 inch

€29,000

Photography, Gecko, Stuart Redler

Stuart Redler

Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch

€1,263

Painting, Lion in red, Maudin

Maudin

Painting - 80 x 60 x 2.5 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 1 inch

€1,200

Print, Soother, Brett Crawford

Brett Crawford

Print - 19.7 x 19.7 x 2 cm Print - 7.8 x 7.8 x 0.8 inch

€8,910

Painting, Rage, Hristo Gaberov

Hristo Gaberov

Painting - 80 x 65 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 25.6 x 0.8 inch

€2,500

Fine Art Drawings, Sans titre, Salim Karami

Salim Karami

Fine Art Drawings - 12 x 18 cm Fine Art Drawings - 4.7 x 7.1 inch

€700

Sculpture, Tête de Bonobo, Guy Lioult

Guy Lioult

Sculpture - 23 x 20 x 19 cm Sculpture - 9.1 x 7.9 x 7.5 inch

€4,500

Print, Tiger, Rebecca Whitewood

Rebecca Whitewood

Print - 30 x 25 x 2 cm Print - 11.8 x 9.8 x 0.8 inch

€1,900

Print, Zébre, Mosko

Mosko

Print - 45 x 30 x 0.1 cm Print - 17.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch

€75

Sculpture, Aviateur, S.Kristol

S.Kristol

Sculpture - 75 x 25 x 25 cm Sculpture - 29.5 x 9.8 x 9.8 inch

€6,900

Sculpture, Golden snake, Cobelentsz

Cobelentsz

Sculpture - 29 x 39 x 7 cm Sculpture - 11.4 x 15.4 x 2.8 inch

€3,450

Painting, Yellow panther, Julian Press

Julian Press

Painting - 60 x 90 x 3 cm Painting - 23.6 x 35.4 x 1.2 inch

€3,550

Sculpture, Mother, Ron Zohar

Ron Zohar

Sculpture - 48 x 40 x 40 cm Sculpture - 18.9 x 15.7 x 15.7 inch

€8,400

Sculpture, Seahorse, Robert Vaccaro

Robert Vaccaro

Sculpture - 46 x 21 x 17 cm Sculpture - 18.1 x 8.3 x 6.7 inch

€7,500

Painting, Charging bull, Ben Koracevic

Ben Koracevic

Painting - 102 x 119.5 x 5 cm Painting - 40.2 x 47 x 2 inch

€12,500

Fine Art Drawings, Le Buffle, Jean Poulain

Jean Poulain

Fine Art Drawings - 58 x 78 x 3 cm Fine Art Drawings - 22.8 x 30.7 x 1.2 inch

€790

Painting, To be Queen, Paco Roum

Paco Roum

Painting - 100 x 100 x 3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch

€4,955

Print, Marmotte, Osanne Nègre

Osanne Nègre

Print - 44 x 38 cm Print - 17.3 x 15 inch

€300

Sculpture, Lulu28, Mister Luca T

Mister Luca T

Sculpture - 39 x 40 x 7 cm Sculpture - 15.4 x 15.7 x 2.8 inch

€3,800