Origins with Dürer, occasional motifs in the Dutch Golden Age, and Audubon’s birds. Liljefors painting wildlife set in natural surroundings, as works of art.
d’Hondecoeter
The Annunciation, and myth of Vertumnus and Pomona, a tale from Roman history, a favourite fable, stories of schools and a concert of the birds.
Early explorations in the landscapes of Aelbert Cuyp, tortoises from Brazil, the first dedicated animal painter in Paulus Potter, and a concert of birds by Melchior d’Hondecoeter.
Although unusual in paintings, tortoises can have several different readings, from love to slow and faltering political reforms.
Evoking music from a painting is a serious challenge, yet many artists have tried it. See if any of these work for you. From Lavinia Fontana to Degas.
From cave paintings 36,000 years ago, through Paulus Potter in the Dutch Golden Age, to Oudry’s fables and racehorses of the early 19th century.
Symbols of the night, and through association with Athena/Minerva, for wisdom and learning. Owls in paintings to William Blake.
If composers and performers can evoke visual images in music, why can’t painters return the complement? Lavinia Fontana, Vermeer, Menzel, Corot and others try.
Why are there two tortoises in the foreground of Moreau’s ‘Orpheus’? After a journey through Zen Buddhism, fables, and political allegory, the answer may be more obvious.
What do Bosch’s many owls signify? Wisdom, night, or something more sinister?
The Eclectic Light Company 