At LargeMay 26, 2023Cynthia Close
wikimedia commons
Gerrit Dou, Sleeping Dog, 1650.
The term zoomorphism, when applied to art, can mean any object that uses animals as a visual motif. In literature, zoomorphism relates to humans or objects that assume animalistic behaviors or features.
Louvre, wikimedia commons
Egyptian mummified cat.
Deities in the art of ancient religions were often imagined as mythological creatures sometimes merging animal and human anatomies. Hindu gods and goddesses all have their animal counterparts. The elephant-headed Ganesha, Lord of Obstacles, is perhaps the most widely recognized deity outside of India.
Cats were ubiquitous in ancient Egypt revered as sacred household companions in life and mummifiedto travel with their human owners after death.
Indigenous cultures acknowledge their dependence on animals for daily survival by incorporating their images in artworks and everyday items like this beautifully crafted Eskimobaskettopped with an ivory polar bearand seal handle.
Honolulu Museum of Art, wikimedia commons
George Omnik(Point Hope, Alaska, Eskimo), Basket with bear and seal carving. Coiled, rattle cover, baleen, whale ivory.
Cultural depictions of dogs in art, usually in the context of hunting, are found in caves and tombs going back to the Bronze Age. As they became domesticated dogs, were brought into the home, as seen in this Pompeiian fresco Endymion and Selene. Dogs have continued to be featured in painting and sculpture throughout art history, becoming a status symbol in the 18th and 19th century.
wikimedia commons
Master of Color, Endymion and Selene, before 79 AD.
As long as life itself, our evolution as a species has been intimately dependent on our nonhuman counterparts and we have honored that reciprocal relationship by incorporating animal imagery in art, icons, and everyday objects used in our domestic environments. In the early 20th century Dadaist Marcel Duchamp coined the term readymade, turning found objects into art. In 1942, Picasso put a twist on this concept when he turned a discarded bicycle seat into a bull’s head.
courtesy the artist
Sayaka Ganz, Whirl, 2010.
Japanese sculptor Sayaka Ganztakes household waste, discarded items from thrift stores and turns them into animal forms.Ganz’s current focus is plastics. Motion is her hallmark. Her Shinto animist belief imbues inanimate utensils,forks, knives, and spatulas, with new life. Sculptures of birds, cats, fish, and horses are positioned swimming, swirling, flying, and running elegantly in space.
Creature Comfort: Animals in the House (February 1 - August 23, 2020) at Vermont’s Shelburne Museum explores our historical bonds with animals through the art we make and the objects we live with. Shelburne Chief Curator Kory Rogers has created a cozy, thematically arranged showcase taping into the museum's own extensive collection of art and household artifacts complemented by objects from private collections to highlight the cultural, emotional, aesthetic, and practical bonds between humans and animals.
courtesy the Shelburne Museum
Creature Comfort: Animals in the Houseinstalled at the Shelburne Museumthrough August 23, 2020.
Upon entering the gallery, we are greeted by a warmly lit mantel flanked by two framed late 18th century Delft tiles, one a cat, the other a dog, suggesting we have just entered an inviting home where both cats and dogs are welcomed by the fireside. A series of black and white photos from the life of Electra Havemeyer Webb (1888-1960), the museum's founder, show her surrounded by and sometimes covered by her bevy of dogs, most often poodles,indicating that although she died in 1960, she would have enthusiastically supported this exhibition.
courtesy the Shelburne Museum
Electra Havemeyer Webb
Creature Comfortis organized into six animal-themed, color-coordinated areas suggesting rooms in a home. The paintings, rugs, ceramics, toys, cages, wallpaper and furniture featuring dogs, birds, fish, cryptids (myths and monsters), wildlife, and cats generally date from the 18th century to the present. In challenging our notion of domesticated animal imagery, Rogers has chosen objects that take giant aesthetic leaps.
courtesy the Shelburne Museum
Mute Swan Tureens, ca. 1755.
A gracefully sculptural pair of porcelain Mute Swan Tureens, ca. 1755 (the only known surviving set)stand in sharp contrast to Pair of Guard Beasts: Brooke Shields and Jean Luc-Pi-guard(2016) a surrealist inflected anthropomorphic set of chairs by the Los Angeles-based Haas Brothers known for their irreverent designs straddling functionality and purely inventive form.
courtesy the Shelburne Museum
The Haas Brothers, Pair of Guard Beasts: Brooke Shields and Jean Luc-Pi-guard,2016. Installed in Creature Comfort: Animals in the Houseat the Shelburne Museum.
It is estimated that over 85 million households in the United States currently include at least one animal as a pet with worldwide statistics even higher and growing. We pay tribute to those creatures in our lives with photographs, paintings, sculptures, poetry, and song. And while human activity drives ever more species into extinction, their images, caught in art and objects may be all that remains.
About the Author
Cynthia Close
Cynthia Close holdsaMFA from Boston University, was an instructor in drawing and painting, Dean of Admissions at The Art Institute of Boston, founder of ARTWORKS Consulting, and former executive director/president of Documentary Educational Resources, a film company.She was the inaugural art editor for the literary and art journal Mud Season Review.She now writes about art and culture for several publications.
Tags
animal art
pets
zoomorphism
Shelburne Museum
Haas Brothers
Decorative Arts
contemporary art
Subscribe to our free e-letter!
Webform
Latest News
Sports in Art: Paris Exhibitions To See Besides the Olympics
The 2024 Paris …
The Return of The Portal, Connecting New York And Dublin
Last Monday saw the return of The Portal, a large live-streaming video…
Five Female-Driven Films That Celebrate Women in the Arts
While audiences have always loved a good biopic, finding the…
Christie’s, Sotheby's, and Phillips: Auction Highlights and Record Breaks
Despite the market’s slight lull in comparison to the last few years…
10 Must-See Works at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
A “must see” during any visit to …
Art and Object Marketplace - A Curated Art Marketplace
Photography
Christmas Lights: Photographing a Very American Tradition
What You Don't Know About the World’s Oldest Photograph
Developing Magic: Unlocking the Secrets of Darkrooms
Ancient Art
Archaeologists Uncover Mysterious Ancient Roman Dodecahedron
A Brief Look at Sun Symbolism Through Art History
The Metropolitan Museum to Return Cambodian Artifacts Tied to Looting
Latin American Art
Why the LACMA’s “Archive of the World” Catalogue Matters
Neo-Concretism: the short-lived but influential art movement
Pre-Columbian Latin America: The Chavín of Ancient Peru
Sculpture
Petrit Halilaj’s Exhibit of Play Ascends the Met’s Rooftop
Art Collectives: Top 10 Pieces To See at TEFAF New York 2024
The Art of Snow and Ice: Depictions Throughout Art History
Design
How the Most Precise Bombing Run of WWII Saved Florence's Masterpieces
Restoring The Frick Collection’s Historic Fifth Avenue Home
Painting
The Art of Spring: 10 Paintings to Mark this Season
A Motif Exhibition from Clare Rojas, Belle of the Balls
Mural by Paul Cézanne Discovered in the Artist's Childhood Home
Antiques
How Money Laundering Works In The Art World
Creature Comfort: Animal Art in the Home
Gallery
Charles III Reveals His First Official Portrait As King
Nasher Sculpture Center Exhibition: Haas Brothers Illuminations
Rachel Jones’ Abstract Psychic Landscape of Teeth and Color
Museum
Sand Dresses at The Met Gala 2024, A Brief History and Review
Prado to Display Newly Discovered Caravaggio Painting
The Best Art Museum in All 50 U.S. States 2024
Indigenous Art
An Ode To The Woven Arts At 2024 Venice Biennale Golden Lion Awards
History Painting: An Art Genre or the Manipulation of Truth?
9 Indigenous Art Accounts to Follow on Instagram
Women Artists
10 Fearless Women Artists Throughout History
Georgia O'Keeffe's Early Works Reveal Her Greatness
Why Rosa Bonheur's "Horse Fair" is a Masterpiece of Realism
Asian Art
The Golden Ratio Revealed in 7 Masterpieces
'Beyond Bollywood' Brings Together 2000 Years of Dance in Art
Colors as Transgression in the Holi Festival
Modern Art
Discovering MoMA: 10 Surprising Facts About the Museum of Modern Art
Explore Claude Monet's Iconic Garden at Giverny
Peggy Guggenheim: The Last Dogaressa
LGBTQ Artists
Preview Laurence Philomene’s Masterful Monograph: "Puberty"
6 Art World Events for Pride 2022
Auction
Christie's Website Hacked Days Leading Up To Major Auctions
A Rediscovered Klimt Painting Goes to Auction In Vienna
Elton John Sales of Art and Memorabilia Bring in $20.5 Million
Renaissance
Trial Begins in Russian Billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev's Case Against Sotheby's
A Brief History of the Female Nude: From Willendorf to Kardashian
Drawing
Santa Claus Through History: Tracing the Evolution of a Beloved Icon
The Mystical Tradition: Drawings of Memory and Mystery at the Drawing Center
The History of Copying Art: A Learning Tool or a Cheat?
Contemporary Art
10 Highlights from the Whitney Biennial 2024
11 Contemporary Black Artists You Should Know
Black Artists
12 African American Artists You Should Know More About
Nina Simone’s Childhood Home Gains Support to Become a Historic Site
Hilton Als: The Pulitzer Winning Critic Discusses the Art of Curating
Fair
Previewing Independent Art Fair’s 15th New York Edition
10 Must-See National Pavilions in the 2024 Venice Biennale
The Louvre Is Still the World's Most Visited Museum, and More News