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, Cancer, Anatoly Tarabanov

Anatoly Tarabanov

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

$605

Painting, Fish, Anatoly Tarabanov

Anatoly Tarabanov

Painting - 70 x 90 x 2 cm Painting - 27.6 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch

$755

Sculpture, N° 183, Mario Dilitz

Mario Dilitz

Sculpture - 171 x 126 x 72 cm Sculpture - 67.3 x 49.6 x 28.3 inch

$53,907

Painting, Spring, Anatoly Tarabanov

Anatoly Tarabanov

Painting - 90 x 110 x 2 cm Painting - 35.4 x 43.3 x 0.8 inch

$779

Painting, Les glaneurs, Levalet

Levalet

Painting - 56 x 68 cm Painting - 22 x 26.8 inch

$2,635

Sculpture, Tattoo bull, James Chiew

James Chiew

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

$2,935

Sculpture, Horus, Pauline Couble

Pauline Couble

Sculpture - 41 x 24 x 16 cm Sculpture - 16.1 x 9.4 x 6.3 inch

$2,995

Painting, Paysages 245, Xiu

Xiu

Painting - 20 x 40 x 1 cm Painting - 7.9 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch

$659

Painting, Aldébaran, Emilie Serris

Emilie Serris

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

$1,138

Painting, Chat pêcheur, M.Chat

M.Chat

Painting - 61 x 46 x 2 cm Painting - 24 x 18.1 x 0.8 inch

$61,693

Print, Scarabée, Max Ernst

Max Ernst

Print - 31.5 x 23.4 x 0.1 cm Print - 12.4 x 9.2 x 0 inch

$2,635

Painting, Dreams-III, Svetlana Martin

Svetlana Martin

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

$683

Painting, Dreams-II, Svetlana Martin

Svetlana Martin

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

$683

Painting, Virtus, Keng Wai Lee

Keng Wai Lee

Painting - 81.5 x 81.5 x 4 cm Painting - 32.1 x 32.1 x 1.6 inch

$2,519

Sculpture, Boxing Kong, Richard Orlinski

Richard Orlinski

Sculpture - 180 x 97 x 144 cm Sculpture - 70.9 x 38.2 x 56.7 inch

$130,000

Painting, Horse, Menashe Kadishman

Menashe Kadishman

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

$3,700

Painting, Look For, Wang Dianyu

Wang Dianyu

Painting - 45.5 x 53 x 2 cm Painting - 17.9 x 20.9 x 0.8 inch

$2,456

Painting, Plaster Bear, Wang Dianyu

Wang Dianyu

Painting - 70 x 50 x 3 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 1.2 inch

$1,078

Painting, Sunset, Jacob Burda

Jacob Burda

Painting - 92 x 92 x 2 cm Painting - 36.2 x 36.2 x 0.8 inch

$2,156

Painting, Spring Day, Jacob Burda

Jacob Burda

Painting - 92 x 92 x 2.5 cm Painting - 36.2 x 36.2 x 1 inch

$1,917

Sculpture, Thalassa, Alain Mandon

Alain Mandon

Sculpture - 75 x 25 x 8 cm Sculpture - 29.5 x 9.8 x 3.1 inch

$1,186

Sculpture, Kong x Air Jordan, Ske

Ske

Sculpture - 20 x 11 x 6 cm Sculpture - 7.9 x 4.3 x 2.4 inch

$779

Sculpture, Kong Vs Basquiat, Ske

Ske

Sculpture - 20 x 11 x 6 cm Sculpture - 7.9 x 4.3 x 2.4 inch

$779

Painting, New Life, Le Hai Linh

Le Hai Linh

Painting - 108 x 90 x 1 cm Painting - 42.5 x 35.4 x 0.4 inch

$4,492

Painting, Sea Turtle, Enric Correa

Enric Correa

Painting - 60 x 80 x 1.5 cm Painting - 23.6 x 31.5 x 0.6 inch

$839

Painting, Parrot, Enric Correa

Enric Correa

Painting - 60 x 80 x 1.5 cm Painting - 23.6 x 31.5 x 0.6 inch

$839

Painting, Crocodilia, Enric Correa

Enric Correa

Painting - 60 x 80 x 1.5 cm Painting - 23.6 x 31.5 x 0.6 inch

$839

Sculpture, Dog Chanel, Naor

Naor

Sculpture - 40 x 33 x 33 cm Sculpture - 15.7 x 13 x 13 inch

$1,312

Painting, Blue Run, Hunt Slonem

Hunt Slonem

Painting - 76.2 x 91.4 cm Painting - 30 x 36 inch

$29,349

Painting, 2 Glisten, Hunt Slonem

Hunt Slonem

Painting - 25.4 x 20.32 x 1 cm Painting - 10 x 8 x 0.4 inch

$8,386

Sculpture, Quickly, Sophie Verger

Sophie Verger

Sculpture - 13 x 15 x 7 cm Sculpture - 5.1 x 5.9 x 2.8 inch

$1,917

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