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, Dancing fish, Pol Ledent

Pol Ledent

Painting . 70 x 70 x 2 cm Painting . 27.6 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch

€1,100

Painting, Abstract bull, Pol Ledent

Pol Ledent

Painting . 80 x 80 x 4 cm Painting . 31.5 x 31.5 x 1.6 inch

€1,200

Photography, Dog Wash, Ken Heyman

Ken Heyman

Photography . 27.9 x 35.6 x 1.3 cm Photography . 11 x 14 x 0.5 inch

€4,392

Sculpture, Cómplice, Ron Zohar

Ron Zohar

Sculpture . 41 x 24 x 25 cm Sculpture . 16.1 x 9.4 x 9.8 inch

€7,400

Painting, At the Dacha, Akim Levich

Akim Levich

Painting . 90 x 85 x 2 cm Painting . 35.4 x 33.5 x 0.8 inch

€7,500

Painting, Bunny - Red, Hunt Slonem

Hunt Slonem

Painting . 25 x 20 cm Painting . 9.8 x 7.9 inch

€6,950

Painting, The cat, Sergey Khachatryan

Sergey Khachatryan

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

€5,033

Painting, Les poules, Laurence Leccia

Laurence Leccia

Painting . 146 x 89 x 2.5 cm Painting . 57.5 x 35 x 1 inch

€2,500

Painting, Le Liotus Bleu, Eric Liot

Eric Liot

Painting . 120 x 100 x 10 cm Painting . 47.2 x 39.4 x 3.9 inch

€9,500

Fine Art Drawings, White rhino, Aurélie Trabaud

Aurélie Trabaud

Fine Art Drawings . 20 x 20 x 0.4 cm Fine Art Drawings . 7.9 x 7.9 x 0.2 inch

€550

Fine Art Drawings, Youthful Madness, Qing-Yan Li

Qing-Yan Li

Fine Art Drawings . 68 x 68 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings . 26.8 x 26.8 x 0 inch

€1,650

Painting, Plume II, Viola Schiviz

Viola Schiviz

Painting . 19 x 19 x 1 cm Painting . 7.5 x 7.5 x 0.4 inch

€200

Painting, John Waters, Mark Kostabi

Mark Kostabi

Painting . 121.9 x 137.2 cm Painting . 48 x 54 inch

€16,470

Photography, Lac des cygnes, Peter Zupnik

Peter Zupnik

Photography . 30 x 40 x 1 cm Photography . 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch

€1,650

Sculpture, P'tit Cha Cha Chat, Lolek

Lolek

Sculpture . 30.5 x 29.5 x 11 cm Sculpture . 12 x 11.6 x 4.3 inch

€3,200

Painting, Caja, Franz Campoy

Franz Campoy

Painting . 100 x 81 x 3 cm Painting . 39.4 x 31.9 x 1.2 inch

€1,300

Painting, The Parrot, Henrik Diamant

Henrik Diamant

Painting . 80 x 100 x 6 cm Painting . 31.5 x 39.4 x 2.4 inch

€1,800

Painting, Black Birds 6, Marian Williams

Marian Williams

Painting . 30 x 30 x 0.5 cm Painting . 11.8 x 11.8 x 0.2 inch

€250 €198

Painting, Sheep, Menashe Kadishman

Menashe Kadishman

Painting . 80 x 60 x 3 cm Painting . 31.5 x 23.6 x 1.2 inch

€3,614

Sculpture, Simbèu, Emilie Muzy

Emilie Muzy

Sculpture . 44 x 80 x 32 cm Sculpture . 17.3 x 31.5 x 12.6 inch

€9,500

Sculpture, Black old Bird, David Natidze

David Natidze

Sculpture . 30 x 33 x 15 cm Sculpture . 11.8 x 13 x 5.9 inch

€4,400

Painting, Akipio, Sancho Medina

Sancho Medina

Painting . 60 x 40 x 2.5 cm Painting . 23.6 x 15.7 x 1 inch

€880

Print, Print Lighted Rat, Bordalo

Bordalo

Print . 30 x 42 x 0.1 cm Print . 11.8 x 16.5 x 0 inch

€280

Painting, Boeuf, Zhenlin Jiang

Zhenlin Jiang

Painting . 50 x 60 x 3 cm Painting . 19.7 x 23.6 x 1.2 inch

€600

Painting, Leopard, Asko

Asko

Painting . 133 x 114 x 0.1 cm Painting . 52.4 x 44.9 x 0 inch

€2,500 €2,250

Painting, Apparition, Peggy Cardoso

Peggy Cardoso

Painting . 81 x 100 x 2 cm Painting . 31.9 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch

€2,000

Sculpture, Octodream, Max ArtLouis

Max ArtLouis

Sculpture . 20 x 30 x 30 cm Sculpture . 7.9 x 11.8 x 11.8 inch

€900

Painting, Forest of Serenity, Su Bin Lim

Su Bin Lim

Painting . 60.6 x 72.7 x 3 cm Painting . 23.9 x 28.6 x 1.2 inch

€2,400

Painting, Les Fauves, Karine Secret

Karine Secret

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

€2,250

Fine Art Drawings, Bastet, Corné Akkers

Corné Akkers

Fine Art Drawings . 21.1 x 28.2 x 0.3 cm Fine Art Drawings . 8.3 x 11.1 x 0.1 inch

€1,462

Painting, Secret sealife, Pol Ledent

Pol Ledent

Painting . 80 x 100 x 2 cm Painting . 31.5 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch

€1,500

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