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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Painting, Bird, David Jamin

David Jamin

Painting - 30 x 30 x 2.5 cm Painting - 11.8 x 11.8 x 1 inch

€730

Painting, En route, Rudyard Heaton

Rudyard Heaton

Painting - 60 x 81 x 2.5 cm Painting - 23.6 x 31.9 x 1 inch

€750

Print, Sans-titre, Max Ernst

Max Ernst

Print - 38 x 28 cm Print - 15 x 11 inch

€650

Print, Paris verte, M.Chat

M.Chat

Print - 44 x 35 cm Print - 17.3 x 13.8 inch

€350

Sculpture, Le bison, Marc Petit

Marc Petit

Sculpture - 27 x 42 x 16 cm Sculpture - 10.6 x 16.5 x 6.3 inch

€5,000

Painting, Sheep, Menashe Kadishman

Menashe Kadishman

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

€1,113

Print, Balance, Irena Aizen

Irena Aizen

Print - 25.5 x 22.5 x 1 cm Print - 10 x 8.9 x 0.4 inch

€648

Sculpture, Purrfect Embrace, Viktor Zuk

Viktor Zuk

Sculpture - 39 x 11 x 14 cm Sculpture - 15.4 x 4.3 x 5.5 inch

€690

Sculpture, Piaf Pikachu, Valerie Marty

Valerie Marty

Sculpture - 21 x 12 x 12 cm Sculpture - 8.3 x 4.7 x 4.7 inch

€750

Painting, Carpes Koïs, Hervé Maury

Hervé Maury

Painting - 50 x 50 x 3 cm Painting - 19.7 x 19.7 x 1.2 inch

€800

Print, The King, Blek Le Rat

Blek Le Rat

Print - 23 x 31 x 0.1 cm Print - 9.1 x 12.2 x 0 inch

€1,600

Print, Lory, James Jean

James Jean

Print - 35.6 x 28 x 0.2 cm Print - 14 x 11 x 0.1 inch

€2,000

Painting, Lion King, Art By Son

Art By Son

Painting - 200 x 150 x 4 cm Painting - 78.7 x 59.1 x 1.6 inch

€14,500

Painting, The Giant, Alexander Levich

Alexander Levich

Painting - 20 x 30 x 3.5 cm Painting - 7.9 x 11.8 x 1.4 inch

€750

Painting, Perroquet, Martin

Martin

Painting - 80 x 80 x 3 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 1.2 inch

€650

Sculpture, Back Home, Astroman

Astroman

Sculpture - 30 x 55 x 17 cm Sculpture - 11.8 x 21.7 x 6.7 inch

€10,000

Painting, Stoulgram, Stoul

Stoul

Painting - 50 x 40 x 1 cm Painting - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch

€750

Sculpture, Funny doggy, Patrick Cornée

Patrick Cornée

Sculpture - 36 x 35 x 15 cm Sculpture - 14.2 x 13.8 x 5.9 inch

€1,900

Painting, Soulmates, Daria Borisova

Daria Borisova

Painting - 25.4 x 50.8 x 2.54 cm Painting - 10 x 20 x 1 inch

€775

Sculpture, Unicorn II/VII, Gor Avetisyan

Gor Avetisyan

Sculpture - 30.2 x 24 x 5.6 cm Sculpture - 11.9 x 9.4 x 2.2 inch

€2,100

Print, The dog, Takeru Amano

Takeru Amano

Print - 69 x 69 cm Print - 27.2 x 27.2 inch

€1,200

Painting, Capture, Safia Wosth

Safia Wosth

Painting - 50 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch

€500

Sculpture, Art cat, Âme Sauvage

Âme Sauvage

Sculpture - 20 x 7 x 9 cm Sculpture - 7.9 x 2.8 x 3.5 inch

€150

Painting, Dinner, Sargis Zaqaryan

Sargis Zaqaryan

Painting - 50 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch

€528

Sculpture, Tattoo bull II, James Chiew

James Chiew

Sculpture - 35 x 62 x 39 cm Sculpture - 13.8 x 24.4 x 15.4 inch

€2,450

Painting, Aerodynamic, Stom500

Stom500

Painting - 120 x 100 x 5 cm Painting - 47.2 x 39.4 x 2 inch

€4,900

Painting, Scène taurine, Juan Benito

Juan Benito

Painting - 50 x 60 x 0.3 cm Painting - 19.7 x 23.6 x 0.1 inch

€690

Sculpture, Misty, Bernard Rives

Bernard Rives

Sculpture - 45 x 18 x 12 cm Sculpture - 17.7 x 7.1 x 4.7 inch

€1,500

Painting, Leopard, Svetlana Saratova

Svetlana Saratova

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

€801

Sculpture, Chat sur bidon, C215

C215

Sculpture - 22 x 17 x 7 cm Sculpture - 8.7 x 6.7 x 2.8 inch

€2,200

Sculpture, Cha'tourbillonne, Lolek

Lolek

Sculpture - 27 x 9 x 20 cm Sculpture - 10.6 x 3.5 x 7.9 inch

€2,350

Print, Dressage, Claude Weisbuch

Claude Weisbuch

Print - 56 x 75 x 0.12 cm Print - 22 x 29.5 x 0 inch

€650

Painting, Robe noir, Barbara Goldmann

Barbara Goldmann

Painting - 76 x 56 x 0.5 cm Painting - 29.9 x 22 x 0.2 inch

€1,200

Painting, Bicharracos, Patopalomo

Patopalomo

Painting - 70 x 50 x 0.24 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch

€560

Sculpture, La Possédée, André Masson

André Masson

Sculpture - 38 x 42 x 18 cm Sculpture - 15 x 16.5 x 7.1 inch

€32,000 €28,800

Painting, Lion, Nyne Factory

Nyne Factory

Painting - 76 x 56 x 0.1 cm Painting - 29.9 x 22 x 0 inch

€800

Print, Butterfly II, James Chiew

James Chiew

Print - 60 x 60 x 2 cm Print - 23.6 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch

€2,750

Sculpture, Horse head, Jón Leifsson

Jón Leifsson

Sculpture - 27 x 24 x 15 cm Sculpture - 10.6 x 9.4 x 5.9 inch

€800

Sculpture, Tigre, Jean-François Gambino

Jean-François Gambino

Sculpture - 85 x 170 x 40 cm Sculpture - 33.5 x 66.9 x 15.7 inch

€84,400

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