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.

Read more
Painting, Lion #4, Martin

Martin

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

€750

Sculpture, La Chrysalide, André Masson

André Masson

Sculpture - 65 x 42 x 33 cm Sculpture - 25.6 x 16.5 x 13 inch

€35,000

Sculpture, Éclosion, André Masson

André Masson

Sculpture - 69 x 45 x 45 cm Sculpture - 27.2 x 17.7 x 17.7 inch

€35,000

Print, Love, Takashi Murakami

Takashi Murakami

Print - 50 x 50 cm Print - 19.7 x 19.7 inch

€2,130

Painting, Léopard, Martin

Martin

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

€700

Sculpture, Burning Lips, David Gerstein

David Gerstein

Sculpture - 98 x 120 x 10 cm Sculpture - 38.6 x 47.2 x 3.9 inch

€16,200

Print, Three Deer, Hunt Slonem

Hunt Slonem

Print - 66 x 86.4 cm Print - 26 x 34 inch

€725

Print, Harlem, Hunt Slonem

Hunt Slonem

Print - 55.9 x 76.2 cm Print - 22 x 30 inch

€725

Print, Anaconda, Hunt Slonem

Hunt Slonem

Print - 76.2 x 55.9 cm Print - 30 x 22 inch

€679

Painting, Fleur(s) bleu(es), M.Chat

M.Chat

Painting - 70 x 50 x 1 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch

€3,500

Print, Flora, Irena Aizen

Irena Aizen

Print - 50 x 48 x 2.5 cm Print - 19.7 x 18.9 x 1 inch

€1,160

Painting, Untitled, Teppei Ikehila

Teppei Ikehila

Painting - 33 x 33 x 3 cm Painting - 13 x 13 x 1.2 inch

€620

Painting, Monkey Pulah, Peter de Boer

Peter de Boer

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

€1,540

Print, Minor, Antoni Tapies

Antoni Tapies

Print - 40 x 56 cm Print - 15.7 x 22 inch

€2,500

Painting, The Crew, Asko

Asko

Painting - 84 x 84 x 0.1 cm Painting - 33.1 x 33.1 x 0 inch

€750

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

Sculpture, L'éléphant, Pierre Gimenez

Pierre Gimenez

Sculpture - 30 x 34 x 10 cm Sculpture - 11.8 x 13.4 x 3.9 inch

€2,200

Sculpture, Levitate, Johannes Nielsen

Johannes Nielsen

Sculpture - 10.5 x 6.5 x 11 cm Sculpture - 4.1 x 2.6 x 4.3 inch

€669

Print, Beta fishes, James Chiew

James Chiew

Print - 60 x 120 x 2 cm Print - 23.6 x 47.2 x 0.8 inch

€4,500

Painting, Seascape, Jia Yuan Hua

Jia Yuan Hua

Painting - 50 x 40 x 3 cm Painting - 19.7 x 15.7 x 1.2 inch

€4,600

Painting, Le griffon grype, AKET

AKET

Painting - 92 x 73 x 4 cm Painting - 36.2 x 28.7 x 1.6 inch

€6,500

Print, Red Fish, Erró

Erró

Print - 30 x 24 x 0.05 cm Print - 11.8 x 9.4 x 0 inch

€450

Painting, Les Copains, David Jamin

David Jamin

Painting - 65 x 81 x 2 cm Painting - 25.6 x 31.9 x 0.8 inch

€2,100

Print, Feria 1, Claude Viallat

Claude Viallat

Print - 58 x 46 cm Print - 22.8 x 18.1 inch

€790

Print, Ultimes 4, Kumi Sugaï

Kumi Sugaï

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

€600

Sculpture, Expression, Karen Akhikyan

Karen Akhikyan

Sculpture - 52 x 39 x 25 cm Sculpture - 20.5 x 15.4 x 9.8 inch

€1,359

Painting, Lupus, Tarek

Tarek

Painting - 41 x 33 x 2 cm Painting - 16.1 x 13 x 0.8 inch

€650

Painting, Canard, Xiu

Xiu

Painting - 33 x 33 x 1 cm Painting - 13 x 13 x 0.4 inch

€500

19/100