Animal Sculpture for Sale
Animal sculpture is a sculptural style in its own right. This specific genre deserves the same recognition as nude, marble, bronze and resin sculptures.
The representation of animals and anthropomorphism has long been a source of inspiration for sculptural creations and yet it was once considered a minor genre in Western European decorative arts. Ironically, animal sculpture was of the utmost importance to Ancient civilizations. Countless ancient Egyptian buildings for example were adorned with animal sculptures, from grandiose representations of felines to Sphinxes. More generally within the visual arts, animals were rarely represented in their own right, and were often depicted accompanying or symbolizing mythological figures or even character traits.
Aside from its mythical representations, animal sculptures were also popular with suzerain states who used monumental bronze sculptures of lions or eagles to symbolise the immensity of their power.
However, it wasn't until 1831 that the sculptor Antoine-Louis Barye finally established animal sculpture as a noble art, thanks to his work "Tiger devouring a Gavial Crocodile" at the Salon de Paris. It was no longer fashionable to depict animals as unreal, mythological creatures in the decorative arts and instead naturalism and realistic representations of animals characterized the sculpture of the period. Ideas about nature's wealth and abundance meant that all creatures deserved to be carefully and meticulously recreated in the closest likeness possible. Mythical animal interpretations were left behind and artists concentrated on capturing the finer details of an animal's fur, muscles or mouth.
A new wave of renowned animal sculptors emerged. Pierre-Jules Mêne, Antoine Aigon and Jean Germain Demay are just a few examples of some of these pioneering artists. Particularly interested in 'exotic' species (snakes, gazelles, elephants, giraffes, hippopotamuses…), they all explored representing the natural world in a variety of different ways.
In the 20th century, realist tendencies gradually faded away and a new group of creative minds began to experiment with animal sculpture as part of the shift towards modern sculpture.
Numerous artists tried their hand at animal sculpture whilst applying new aesthetic criteria which was largely influenced by modern and contemporary art movements: Abstract art, Impressionism, Cubism, Expressionism. Guided by key surrealist influences, which could not have been further removed from the traditional styles of the past century, a new bestiary was created. Pablo Picasso and Alberto Giacometti were among the key figures who helped to reinvent the way artists endeavored to sculpt animals.
In contemporary animal sculpture, radically redefining artistic techniques and the way we represent living beings has taken precedence over realistic proportion sizes and lifelike features. Artists no longer refrain from accentuating a particular body part, removing a limb for example or creating an entirely new hybrid beast. However, many artists are also skilled at creating hyper-realistic animals that seem so real they almost appear to be alive.
To help you get an idea of the latest animal sculptures, take a look at Artsper's collection of sculpted animals, selected from some of the best contemporary art galleries and made by artists including Jaques Dufrane, Raymundo Fabian Melchor and Roxana y Jesus Hernandez.
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One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Vladas Kanciauskas
Sculpture - 39 x 42 x 18 cm Sculpture - 15.4 x 16.5 x 7.1 inch
€3,000
Colombe diamant
François Galoyer
Sculpture - 18.5 x 6 x 8.5 cm Sculpture - 7.3 x 2.4 x 3.3 inch
€3,200
King Kong Balls Blanc
Denis Defrancesco
Sculpture - 11 x 25 x 11 cm Sculpture - 4.3 x 9.8 x 4.3 inch
€1,500
Sticking to my post
Poren Huang
Sculpture - 33 x 42 x 53 cm Sculpture - 13 x 16.5 x 20.9 inch
€26,339
Crocodile Gold
Urban Street Art
Sculpture - 72 x 33 x 60 cm Sculpture - 28.3 x 13 x 23.6 inch
€1,450
I Cannot Change My Spots but I Have No Desire to Change My Spots
David Shrigley
Sculpture - 19 x 11 x 12 cm Sculpture - 7.5 x 4.3 x 4.7 inch
€3,250
Hypomnema 1, Wall sculpture
Ivan Castiblanco
Sculpture - 79.8 x 79.8 x 33.8 cm Sculpture - 31.4 x 31.4 x 13.3 inch
€2,319
Der Bär - Gold - The Bear Gold Leaf Edition
Markus Lüpertz
Sculpture - 40 x 14 x 11 cm Sculpture - 15.7 x 5.5 x 4.3 inch
€15,000
Mon Cartier Blue and black panthers number 1
Lee Berthille
Sculpture - 45 x 140 x 31 cm Sculpture - 17.7 x 55.1 x 12.2 inch
€3,100
Gacko Bear Love pop art Lv Color
Stéphane Alaux
Sculpture - 27 x 26 x 21 cm Sculpture - 10.6 x 10.2 x 8.3 inch
€1,290
Lucky catcher
Volodymyr Mykytenko
Sculpture - 31 x 12 x 10 cm Sculpture - 12.2 x 4.7 x 3.9 inch
€2,133
Ours marchant
Marie-Josèphe Stenne
Sculpture - 18 x 37.5 x 12.5 cm Sculpture - 7.1 x 14.8 x 4.9 inch
€680 €544
Sweet Dragon Gentil
Laurent Garcin
Sculpture - 30 x 40 x 12 cm Sculpture - 11.8 x 15.7 x 4.7 inch
€950
Mythological composition
Spas Kirichev
Sculpture - 29 x 32 x 13 cm Sculpture - 11.4 x 12.6 x 5.1 inch
€2,550
Panama (Baby Elephant)
Thomas Turner
Sculpture - 64 x 48 x 10 cm Sculpture - 25.2 x 18.9 x 3.9 inch
€1,200
Ballon Dog Gold and Chupa Chups green
Koen Betjes
Sculpture - 13 x 13 x 9 cm Sculpture - 5.1 x 5.1 x 3.5 inch
€415
Coeur argenté
Béatrice Bost Le Moël
Sculpture - 50 x 50 x 3 cm Sculpture - 19.7 x 19.7 x 1.2 inch
€2,500
Cheval en galop gaalctique
Ari Setiawan
Sculpture - 134 x 130 x 30 cm Sculpture - 52.8 x 51.2 x 11.8 inch
€20,000
Naissance éléphanteau
Florence Jacquesson
Sculpture - 20 x 10 x 22 cm Sculpture - 7.9 x 3.9 x 8.7 inch
€6,500
Ecureuil Squirrel 1987 KENJI BANLIEUE BANLIEUE
Kenji
Sculpture - 48 x 12 x 12 cm Sculpture - 18.9 x 4.7 x 4.7 inch
€1,450
Dragon de Komodo
Damien Colcombet
Sculpture - 18 x 53 x 36 cm Sculpture - 7.1 x 20.9 x 14.2 inch
€6,000
La légende du colibri rose dégradé
Marion Cros
Sculpture - 28 x 15 x 15 cm Sculpture - 11 x 5.9 x 5.9 inch
€1,900 €1,710
Ours Pompon Klein
François Pompon et Yves Klein
Sculpture - 27 x 49 x 19 cm Sculpture - 10.6 x 19.3 x 7.5 inch
€10,500
Rilke Murmuration
Jake Michael Singer
Sculpture - 182 x 144 x 105 cm Sculpture - 71.7 x 56.7 x 41.3 inch
€40,000
Sans titre (no comment)
Francky Boy
Sculpture - 31 x 56 x 6 cm Sculpture - 12.2 x 22 x 2.4 inch
€2,000
Couple de mésanges bleues
Jean Lemonnier
Sculpture - 16 x 11 x 9 cm Sculpture - 6.3 x 4.3 x 3.5 inch
€2,000
Dermatoglifo Invadente
Vanessa Bonino
Sculpture - 88 x 66 x 48 cm Sculpture - 34.6 x 26 x 18.9 inch
€2,500
Blossom & Sky (together)
Petra Dorst
Sculpture - 9 x 9 x 8 cm Sculpture - 3.5 x 3.5 x 3.1 inch
€1,250
Insupportable soif
Pierre Mouzat
Sculpture - 30 x 35 x 30 cm Sculpture - 11.8 x 13.8 x 11.8 inch
€7,500
Eléphant et son petit
Pierre Ilhat
Sculpture - 22 x 38 x 22 cm Sculpture - 8.7 x 15 x 8.7 inch
€4,500
Taureau-machine
Thierry Benenati
Sculpture - 49 x 60 x 42 cm Sculpture - 19.3 x 23.6 x 16.5 inch
€45,000
Walking Turtle
Thomas Rouan / TRM
Sculpture - 26 x 31 x 13 cm Sculpture - 10.2 x 12.2 x 5.1 inch
€910
Toro abstrait
Dominique Pouchain
Sculpture - 80 x 27 x 17 cm Sculpture - 31.5 x 10.6 x 6.7 inch
€2,850
Big fish - Gros poisson
Edmore Chijumani
Sculpture - 25 x 42 x 10 cm Sculpture - 9.8 x 16.5 x 3.9 inch
€1,700
T-Rex Cyborg Dinosaur Figure Silver
Hajime Sorayama
Sculpture - 23 x 65 x 15 cm Sculpture - 9.1 x 25.6 x 5.9 inch
€6,330
Black wolf-fire impact
Cyril Maccioni
Sculpture - 30 x 14.5 x 19 cm Sculpture - 11.8 x 5.7 x 7.5 inch
€1,800
Hipolyte le Morse
Virginie Chardon
Sculpture - 77 x 44 x 32 cm Sculpture - 30.3 x 17.3 x 12.6 inch
€7,700
Discover the styles & movements
Discover the selection of our experts
Kong Christmas 2024 Gold edition
Richard Orlinski
Design - 19 x 13.5 x 7 cm Design - 7.5 x 5.3 x 2.8 inch
€510
Standing Wild Bear
Richard Orlinski
Sculpture - 80 x 52 x 58 cm Sculpture - 31.5 x 20.5 x 22.8 inch
€78,000
Need help with Animal Sculpture for Sale ?
What is the most famous animal sculpture?
Some of the most famous animal sculptures in the world are Charging Bull by Arturo di Modica, The Last Three by Gillie and Marc Schattner, and Lions by Edward Kemeys.
Who is the most famous animal sculptor?
The most famous sculptors who produced animal sculptures include Edward Kemeys, who is credited as being the first animal sculptor (animalier) in America, and Antoine-Louis Barye, a French Romantic sculptor who lived during the late 18th and 19th centuries.
What is Jeff Koons rabbit made of?
Jeff Koons' Rabbit series consists of three stainless steel animal sculptures.