Animalistic genre in the fine arts. Pictures of famous artists

Animalistic genre in the visual arts is, perhaps, the most ancient in history. Our ancestors on the walls of their caves with sharp stones scraped precisely images of animals. The proof of this is the Cave of Lascaux in France.

Many centuries have passed since then. Painting, drawing and sculpture have acquired a rich history, and the animalistic genre - pictures of famous artists to that testimony - has become less popular. However, despite the emergence of new objects of image, such as people, architecture, landscapes and much more, animalism has not ceased to be in demand among artists and among art lovers.

Animalistic genre in the visual arts: paintings depicting the animal world

Animalism is the image of animals on art objects. This genre is not limited to drawing and painting, but is actively used in a number of other arts. Many artists and critics consider animalism to be the most universal genre in the world, as images of animals are characteristic of people of all ages and cultures.

Images of animals are also characteristic of works of art created in another genre. For example, Shishkin's famous painting "Morning in a Pine Forest". Shishkin - the greatest of the landscape painters in the history of Russian art, and "Morning in the Pine Forest", no doubt, is a landscape, but with elements of an animalistic genre. It is worth noting that Shishkin did not write his famous bears, they were performed by the animal painter Konstantin Savitsky.

This practice was extremely popular among animalists. For example, Frans Snyders - one of the most famous artists of the animalistic genre - often painted animals in the paintings of Rubens. It is noteworthy that not all artists, even the most famous, could cope with the image of animals and birds.

History of animalistic genre

The image of animals is the most ancient genre of art, the ardor to which has not faded until the Renaissance and the centralization of the focus on a man with his classical ideals. It is noteworthy that in the era of classicism, animals were depicted on vases, mosaics and frescoes with enviable regularity.

Our early ancestors, scraping on the stone walls of their rough dwellings the figures of those animals that they hunted, and those who ran away, sought to systematize life and the environment, train descendants, pay homage to nature. It is worth noting that animal figures were often depicted in much greater detail than the figures of hunter-humans. This early animalism is called animal style.

Later, in the culture of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, India and other regions, it was popular to portray deities in the form of animals or deify the fauna itself. Thus, images of animals were found on objects of worship, walls of tombs and jewelry.

Ironically, the animalistic genre in the visual arts began to take on modern features precisely during the Renaissance - an era when painting was predominantly religious. Although it is worth noting that most genres took shape due to the Renaissance.

Animalistic genre: artists

The first representatives of the animalistic genre in art are the Chinese artist Yuanji (early 11th century), famous for the image of monkeys, and the Chinese Emperor Xuande from the Ming dynasty (mid-XV), who painted monkeys and dogs as a hobby.

In the Renaissance Europe, an animalistic genre was developed by one of the greatest representatives of the Northern Renaissance, Albrecht Durer. While his contemporaries wrote religious subjects, Durer actively studied the flora and fauna; His watercolors, drawings and lithographs indicate that one of the pillars of Renaissance art was interested in animalistic genre. The paintings of famous artists of that time rarely departed from the accepted norms of painting, but even on the canvases of Leonardo and Raphael, though rarely, still appear animals and birds.

The most outstanding and famous animal painter is the Baroque Flemish painter Frans Snyders. He was especially famous for his still-life with hunting trophies.

Animalistics in painting

During the Renaissance, Baroque, Classicism, Romanticism and later styles, animalism was never something that was not dominant, but even a popular genre. However, talented animal artists could secure a decent living by collaborating with other artists, such as Frans Snyders.

Aristocrats and the bourgeoisie, especially in England, ordered images of the leading horses at the races or their pets. In many portraits of the era of the same Baroque figures were people with pets. In the military portrait it was necessary to depict the leaders on horseback. Often, many aristocrats preferred to be portrayed in portraits in the saddle. Animalistic genre in painting enjoyed popularity among the bourgeoisie, especially with regard to images of hunting and captured game.

Animalistic genre in sculpture

Images of animals in sculpture are very popular all over the world. From the Capitol wolf and the Braunschweig lion to the Bronze Horseman and the Berlin Bear, animal sculptures often become symbols of cities and historical events.

Especially among the animal sculptors there stands out the French artist Antoine-Louis Bari, who created in the era of Romanticism. His sculptures are characteristic for romance drama and energy. Bari, however, was an unusually talented sculptor who studied the anatomy and plasticity of animals in detail. According to him, the image of an animal in motion requires special observation, because one anatomy is not enough here. Each animal has its own plasticity, movement and characteristic habits, which must be caught, so that the image is natural.

Other types of animalism

Animalistic genre in the visual arts did not bypass the photo. Today, many professional photographers and talented fans pay attention to the natural beauty and strength of animals. This is especially true against the background of modern environmental problems and the desire of many people and organizations to pay attention to them and prevent possible disasters that threaten us with the loss of beautiful and charming species of animals such as the Amur tiger, Far Eastern leopard, panda, koala and western gorilla.