Animals on canvas
The idea of celebrating Wildlife Week is to create awareness about the flora and fauna in our country. This week, let’s take a look at some paintings by famous artists who with paint and brush have brought alive the animal kingdom.
Art has always been a medium of choice to showcase the beauty of the wild. And, this has been done since prehistoric times. Some artists, paint animals with the aim of observing nature, while others use animals as subjects to provide topics of discussion or social commentary.
Let’s take a look at five paintings from ancient times to the 19th century. Find out more about the paintings and enjoy the shuffle puzzle too.
Lascaux cave paintings (Ancient times)
On September 12, 1940, over 2000 paintings were discovered in the Lascaux caves in the south of France. The paintings were approximately 17,300 years old. The material used was coloured mineral pigments. Several of these painting depict animals that roamed the area at that time, including horses, cattle, bison and birds.
Young Hare by Albrecht Dürer (1502)
This watercolour painting by the German artist Albrecht Dürer has been praised for its striking accuracy and realistic portrayal of the hare. This is one example of how some artists use animals in their work to observe them with scientific detail.
The Goldfinch by Carel Fabritius (1654)
The Goldfinch was one of the final works by Dutch artist Carel Fabritius. Not long after, he died when a store of gunpowder exploded near his home. This painting shows a goldfinch chained by one of its feet and is notable for its large, sweeping brush strokes and its careful attention to detail.
A lion attacking ahorse by George Stubbs (1765)
Stubbs was fascinated by animals engaged in combat and this is one of his favourites. He has done several paintings of the lion and horse. He was one of the most well known animal painters of England. His focus on the violent forces of nature had a profound impact on the following generation of Romantic artists. Stubbs often replicated these figures exactly but varied the landscape setting in each work. The landscape was critical to Stubbs as it helped set the tone for his often repeated ‘sublime’ encounter.
Surprised! by Henri Rousseau (1891)
This was the first jungle-themed piece by French artist Henri Rousseau. This is an oil-on-canvas painting showing a tiger preparing to pounce on its prey during a tropical storm. Although it wasn’t favourably received at the time, it still remains one of the most famous animal paintings.