Animal

Animals are often featured in news, sometimes in heartwarming tales of human and animal companionship and other times in heartbreaking stories of illegal trade and endangered species. Animals are even present in social sciences, especially thank to  ethology (behavioural sciences of animals in their natural habitat). They have fascinated philosophers from Antiquity all the way through to today and they are even present in the medical realm, as the benefits of animal-assisted therapies have been scientifically proven. 

The relationship between humans and animals is also taken into account in the politics, most notably when debating topics related to ecology, the protection of ecosystems and sustainable development. Thus, animals might be seen as a crucial indicator of humanity's concerns. 

As well in these many sectors, animals are also very much present in the arts. A number of art museums have decided exhibitions to animals including the Cluny Museum in Paris and MoMA PS1 in New York. Whether simply a humble spectator in an 18th century painting or the central subject of a Courbet painting, animals are present throughout the history of art. From symbolic, to esthetic, to abstract, to animal drawings meant to simply record their appearance...all these representations have played a role in influencing artists and also how we characterise and think of individual animals.

Each civilisation has represented the animal on multiples supports (mosaics, metal, stone, bones, etc.) as seen on the Nerja cave wall paintings in Andalusia discovered in 1925. Animal iconography has had multiple purposes, varying according to the era and place. Bats, for example, are often used to represent death, fear or superstition in Western art, whereas the Chinese see them as a sign of happiness. The omnipresence of animals within cultures across the globe is probably down to the similarities between men and animal, a source of both fascination and fear. 

In this selection, Artsper helps you to discover the beauty of the animal kingdom, its diversity, strength and fragility. Artists depict animals in a huge range of mediums: sculpture, painting, photographs, and drawings. Contemporary artists bring an original and poetic vision to their representations of the animals with whom we share our world.

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Sculpture, Leaping Panther, Arun A.

Arun A.

Sculpture - 42 x 22 x 26 cm Sculpture - 16.5 x 8.7 x 10.2 inch

£666

Painting, Rat 4, Blek Le Rat

Blek Le Rat

Painting - 30 x 33 x 2 cm Painting - 11.8 x 13 x 0.8 inch

£15,301 £13,770

Photography, Go-between, Dominic Rouse

Dominic Rouse

Photography - 40.6 x 50.8 cm Photography - 16 x 20 inch

£777

Painting, Eagle I, Pablo Viracocha

Pablo Viracocha

Painting - 26 x 20 cm Painting - 10.2 x 7.9 inch

£515

Sculpture, Masque 4, Alicia Coste

Alicia Coste

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

£444

Painting, Orange Butterflies, Edewann

Edewann

Painting - 65 x 54 x 2 cm Painting - 25.6 x 21.3 x 0.8 inch

£977

Sculpture, Le merle, Sébastien Kito

Sébastien Kito

Sculpture - 23 x 29 x 11 cm Sculpture - 9.1 x 11.4 x 4.3 inch

£533

Painting, Untitled, Susumu Kamijo

Susumu Kamijo

Painting - 43.2 x 35.6 x 2 cm Painting - 17 x 14 x 0.8 inch

£15,301

Fine Art Drawings, Le Philosophe, Guillaume Piot

Guillaume Piot

Fine Art Drawings - 50 x 65 cm Fine Art Drawings - 19.7 x 25.6 inch

£1,333

Painting, En route, Dotty

Dotty

Painting - 30 x 30 x 4 cm Painting - 11.8 x 11.8 x 1.6 inch

£426

Sculpture, NOVILLO, Gite

Gite

Sculpture - 23 x 37 x 24 cm Sculpture - 9.1 x 14.6 x 9.4 inch

£1,110

Painting, Untitled 1, Layla Dagher

Layla Dagher

Painting - 40 x 30 x 2 cm Painting - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch

£497

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

£533

Painting, Tourist Penguino, Penguino

Penguino

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

£711

Design, Jumbo, Jacky Zegers

Jacky Zegers

Design - 46 x 25 x 30 cm Design - 18.1 x 9.8 x 11.8 inch

£466

Sculpture, Rugged Strength, Kamo Aloyan

Kamo Aloyan

Sculpture - 40 x 15 x 10 cm Sculpture - 15.7 x 5.9 x 3.9 inch

£2,066

Painting, Origin Story, Ken Garduno

Ken Garduno

Painting - 24 x 28 x 0.1 cm Painting - 9.4 x 11 x 0 inch

£711

Sculpture, Gold Jelly, Max ArtLouis

Max ArtLouis

Sculpture - 33 x 33 x 38 cm Sculpture - 13 x 13 x 15 inch

£622

Painting, Thin ice, Jean Guy Morin

Jean Guy Morin

Painting - 61 x 76.2 x 3.8 cm Painting - 24 x 30 x 1.5 inch

£564

Sculpture, Spirit, Zlatin Orlov

Zlatin Orlov

Sculpture - 35.5 x 25 x 15 cm Sculpture - 14 x 9.8 x 5.9 inch

£1,910

Painting, Boule à neige, Britt

Britt

Painting - 60 x 50 x 1 cm Painting - 23.6 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch

£888

Print, Miami, Diana Christensen

Diana Christensen

Print - 30.5 x 21.6 x 5.1 cm Print - 12 x 8.5 x 2 inch

£459

Painting, Touro Preto, Philippe Dias

Philippe Dias

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

£1,466

Photography, Square Dance, Art Grafts

Art Grafts

Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 cm Photography - 20 x 16 inch

£533

Fine Art Drawings, Hija de la luna, Marta Grassi

Marta Grassi

Fine Art Drawings - 110 x 75 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 43.3 x 29.5 x 0 inch

£800

Painting, Birds, Jean Pierre Gouysse

Jean Pierre Gouysse

Painting - 54.5 x 45.5 x 0.2 cm Painting - 21.5 x 17.9 x 0.1 inch

£693

Fine Art Drawings, Végetaniamals 15, K TD

K TD

Fine Art Drawings - 21 x 29.7 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 8.3 x 11.7 x 0.1 inch

£533

Sculpture, Petit Poney, Emilie Muzy

Emilie Muzy

Sculpture - 13 x 25 x 7 cm Sculpture - 5.1 x 9.8 x 2.8 inch

£524

Print, Van Gogh, Markus Pierson

Markus Pierson

Print - 25.4 x 25.4 x 5.1 cm Print - 10 x 10 x 2 inch

£612

Photography, Untitled, Enrique Seguí

Enrique Seguí

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

£533

Painting, Jaguar, Farid Saâdi

Farid Saâdi

Painting - 54 x 65 x 3 cm Painting - 21.3 x 25.6 x 1.2 inch

£3,109

Painting, Welcoming Spring, Asia Katz

Asia Katz

Painting - 50 x 48 x 1 cm Painting - 19.7 x 18.9 x 0.4 inch

£533

Painting, Nanoq, Lise Vurpillot

Lise Vurpillot

Painting - 100 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch

£3,287

Sculpture, Rhinoceros, Pascal Chesneau

Pascal Chesneau

Sculpture - 22 x 48 x 12 cm Sculpture - 8.7 x 18.9 x 4.7 inch

£4,620

Painting, Le Cerf, Ludovic Isidore

Ludovic Isidore

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

£1,333

Painting, Grenouille, Yann Peron

Yann Peron

Painting - 29 x 41 cm Painting - 11.4 x 16.1 inch

£1,421

Fine Art Drawings, The Mac Chicken, Zo

Zo

Fine Art Drawings - 60 x 40 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0 inch

£520

Painting, Together again, Theo Mackaay

Theo Mackaay

Painting - 80 x 117 x 4 cm Painting - 31.5 x 46.1 x 1.6 inch

£3,998

Painting, Doe, Ivo Bistrichki

Doe

Ivo Bistrichki

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

£746

Painting, Pulse, Elia Bechtel

Elia Bechtel

Painting - 120 x 165 x 4 cm Painting - 47.2 x 65 x 1.6 inch

£14,436

Print, Bivalva, LN Le Cheviller

LN Le Cheviller

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

£115

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