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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Print, Sans-titre, Max Ernst

Sans-titre

Max Ernst

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

€650

Print, Balance, Irena Aizen

Balance

Irena Aizen

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

€648

Print, Paris verte, M.Chat

Paris verte

M.Chat

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

€350

Sculpture, Cointreau China, Li Lihong

Cointreau China

Li Lihong

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

€1,200

Print, Lory, James Jean

Lory

James Jean

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

€2,000

Print, L'Acrobate, Marc Chagall

L'Acrobate

Marc Chagall

Print - 48 x 34 x 0.2 cm Print - 18.9 x 13.4 x 0.1 inch

€1,010

Painting, Portrait 9, FeiWoux Chan

Portrait 9

FeiWoux Chan

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

€1,500

Print, The dog, Takeru Amano

The dog

Takeru Amano

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

€1,200

Painting, Pousse-Moi, Antoine Josse

Pousse-Moi

Antoine Josse

Painting - 99.8 x 99.8 x 5.1 cm Painting - 39.3 x 39.3 x 2 inch

€3,277

Painting, Capture, Safia Wosth

Capture

Safia Wosth

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

€500

Painting, Dinner, Sargis Zaqaryan

Dinner

Sargis Zaqaryan

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

€540

Print, Butterfly II, James Chiew

Butterfly II

James Chiew

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

€2,750

Painting, Aerodynamic, Stom500

Aerodynamic

Stom500

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

€4,900

Sculpture, Spiteful, Sagrasse

Spiteful

Sagrasse

Sculpture - 37 x 16 x 33 cm Sculpture - 14.6 x 6.3 x 13 inch

€580

Print, The King, Blek Le Rat

The King

Blek Le Rat

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

€1,600

Sculpture, Horse head, Jón Leifsson

Horse head

Jón Leifsson

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

€800

Painting, On the cloud, Jia Yuan Hua

On the cloud

Jia Yuan Hua

Painting - 30 x 24 x 4 cm Painting - 11.8 x 9.4 x 1.6 inch

€1,600

Sculpture, Tattoo bull II, James Chiew

Tattoo bull II

James Chiew

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

€2,450

Fine Art Drawings, Sans titre, Patrick Villas

Sans titre

Patrick Villas

Fine Art Drawings - 40 x 65 cm Fine Art Drawings - 15.7 x 25.6 inch

€1,200

Painting, Chat aux ballons, M.Chat

Chat aux ballons

M.Chat

Painting - 26.5 x 47.5 x 0.05 cm Painting - 10.4 x 18.7 x 0 inch

€1,450

Sculpture, Minus, Yoann Merienne

Minus

Yoann Merienne

Sculpture - 59 x 37 x 28 cm Sculpture - 23.2 x 14.6 x 11 inch

€12,000

Sculpture, Anubis, Erik Ebeling

Anubis

Erik Ebeling

Sculpture - 25 x 16 x 19 cm Sculpture - 9.8 x 6.3 x 7.5 inch

€537

Sculpture, The Elephant, Zdenek Legner

The Elephant

Zdenek Legner

Sculpture - 68 x 20 x 20 cm Sculpture - 26.8 x 7.9 x 7.9 inch

€1,500

Painting, Savanah Blues, Brusk (DMV)

Savanah Blues

Brusk (DMV)

Painting - 85 x 105 x 3 cm Painting - 33.5 x 41.3 x 1.2 inch

€7,500

Fine Art Drawings, Python, Pauline Di Valentin

Python

Pauline Di Valentin

Fine Art Drawings - 70 x 50 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch

€700

Painting, Stoulgram, Stoul

Stoulgram

Stoul

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

€750

Painting, Bessodia, Florence Dussuyer

Bessodia

Florence Dussuyer

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

€10,000

Painting, Carpes Koïs, Hervé Maury

Carpes Koïs

Hervé Maury

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

€800

Painting, Birds, Sjöfn Kolbeins

Birds

Sjöfn Kolbeins

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

€1,250

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