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, Too much cat, BB.Queen

BB.Queen

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

$1,441

Painting, Australie, Baptiste Laurent

Baptiste Laurent

Painting - 122 x 104 x 0.3 cm Painting - 48 x 40.9 x 0.1 inch

$3,541

Painting, Lost in Evolution, Asko

Asko

Painting - 70 x 70 x 4 cm Painting - 27.6 x 27.6 x 1.6 inch

$600

Painting, Léopard, C215

C215

Painting - 75 x 57 x 1 cm Painting - 29.5 x 22.4 x 0.4 inch

$4,802

Painting, Cats, Kalina Mavrodieva

Kalina Mavrodieva

Painting - 18 x 25 x 0.2 cm Painting - 7.1 x 9.8 x 0.1 inch

$810

Painting, Infiltrations, BB.Queen

BB.Queen

Painting - 20.3 x 30.5 x 0.3 cm Painting - 8 x 12 x 0.1 inch

$1,441

Painting, Rainbow Cloud, BB.Queen

BB.Queen

Painting - 20.3 x 30.5 x 0.3 cm Painting - 8 x 12 x 0.1 inch

$1,441

Fine Art Drawings, La vie est belle, Tarek

Tarek

Fine Art Drawings - 37.5 x 23.4 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 14.8 x 9.2 x 0 inch

$660

Print, Catch The Stars, El Pez

El Pez

Print - 54.9 x 38.1 x 2.54 cm Print - 21.6 x 15 x 1 inch

$800 $720

Painting, G80049228C, Wo$h

Wo$h

Painting - 60 x 60 x 3 cm Painting - 23.6 x 23.6 x 1.2 inch

$1,200

Print, Sans titre, Corneille

Corneille

Print - 69 x 91 x 0.02 cm Print - 27.2 x 35.8 x 0 inch

$960

Photography, Stingray, Marcus Cederberg

Marcus Cederberg

Photography - 70 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch

$240 $216

Sculpture, Ambition, Karen Akhikyan

Karen Akhikyan

Sculpture - 70 x 14 x 14 cm Sculpture - 27.6 x 5.5 x 5.5 inch

$1,200

Painting, Grey cat, Galya Popova

Galya Popova

Painting - 20 x 20 x 1.5 cm Painting - 7.9 x 7.9 x 0.6 inch

$420

Painting, Oiseau 2, Xiu

Xiu

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

$600

Painting, Oiseau, Xiu

Xiu

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

$600

Sculpture, Monkey business, Ghost Art

Ghost Art

Sculpture - 57 x 37 x 47 cm Sculpture - 22.4 x 14.6 x 18.5 inch

$4,742

Painting, Gift 3, Teppei Ikehila

Teppei Ikehila

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

$744

Fine Art Drawings, Cuckoo bird, Galya Popova

Galya Popova

Fine Art Drawings - 42 x 29.7 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 16.5 x 11.7 x 0 inch

$420

Print, Used to be, Chanoir

Chanoir

Print - 70 x 50 x 0.005 cm Print - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch

$660

Painting, Untitled, Teppei Ikehila

Teppei Ikehila

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

$744

Painting, Toro, Elena Done

Elena Done

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

$2,950

Sculpture, Angel Bear, Richard Texier

Richard Texier

Sculpture - 22 x 18 x 16.5 cm Sculpture - 8.7 x 7.1 x 6.5 inch

$720

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