An animal painter is an artist who specialises in (or is known for their skill in) the portrayal of animals. The '' OED'' dates the first express use of the term "animal painter" to the mid-18th century: by English

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

, naturalist and writer

John Berkenhout John Berkenhout (8 July 1726 – 3 April 1791) was an English physician, naturalist and miscellaneous writer. He was educated as a physician at Edinburgh and Leyden. While at Edinburgh he published a botanical lexicon ''Clavis Anglicae Linguae ...

(1726-1791). From the early 20th century, ''wildlife artist'' became a more usual term for contemporary animal painters.

History

Frans Snyders and workshop - The boar hunt - Google Art Project

Especially in the 17th century, animal painters would often collaborate with other artists, who would either paint the main subject in a historical or mythological piece, or the

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes th ...

background in a decorative one.

Frans Snyders Frans Snyders or Frans Snijders (11 November 1579, Antwerp – 19 August 1657, Antwerp) was a Flemish painter of animals, hunting scenes, market scenes and still lifes. He was one of the earliest specialist animaliers and he is credited wi ...

, a founder of the Baroque animal painting tradition, often provided the animals, and also still lifes of food, for

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradit ...

; a different landscape specialist might provide the background. The paintings by Snyders and his workshop alone typically lack humans, except in kitchen scenes, and usually show a number of animals of different species (or breeds of dog). There are about equal numbers of paintings of dead animals, usually in a kitchen setting or as hunting trophies in a landscape, and of live ones, often in ferocious combat. In the

Dutch Golden Age The Dutch Golden Age ( nl, Gouden Eeuw ) was a period in the history of the Netherlands, roughly spanning the era from 1588 (the birth of the Dutch Republic) to 1672 (the Rampjaar, "Disaster Year"), in which Dutch trade, science, and art an ...

such specialists tended to produce smaller genre paintings concentrating on their specialism. Animal painters came lower down in the

hierarchy of genres A hierarchy of genres is any formalization which ranks different genres in an art form in terms of their prestige and cultural value. In literature, the epic was considered the highest form, for the reason expressed by Samuel Johns ...

, but the best painters could make a very good living; many royal and aristocratic patrons were more interested in their subject matter than that of the more prestigious genres. Mainly in England, there were still more specialised painters from the 18th century who produced portraits of racehorses and prize specimens of livestock, whereas in France animal subjects continued to be decorative capriccios often set around garden statuary. In 2014 Jonathan Jones of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' proposed '' The Goldfinch'' (1654) by Carel Fabritius (1622-1654) as the finest animal portrait; this was not the artist's normal subject matter at all.

Animalier

Antoine-Louis_Barye_-_Jaguar_Devouring_a_Hare_-_Walters_27180_-_Profile

Animalier An animalier (, ) is an artist, mainly from the 19th century, who specializes in, or is known for, skill in the realistic portrayal of animals. " Animal painter" is the more general term for earlier artists. Although the work may be in any genre ...

, as a collective plural noun, is a term used in antiques for small-scale sculptures of animals in particular (animalier bronzes), but also paintings of animals. Large numbers of these were produced - often mass-produced - in the 19th century in France and elsewhere. Many earlier examples can be found, but

animalier An animalier (, ) is an artist, mainly from the 19th century, who specializes in, or is known for, skill in the realistic portrayal of animals. " Animal painter" is the more general term for earlier artists. Although the work may be in any genre ...

sculpture became more popular, and reputable, in early 19th century Paris, with the works of Antoine-Louis Barye (1795-1875) - for whom the term was coined, decisively, by critics in 1831 - and Christopher Fratin (1801-1864). By the mid 19th-century, a taste for animal subjects was widespread among the middle-classes.

Wildlife conservation

Many modern wildlife artists or art groups hold benefits to support

wildlife conservation Wildlife conservation refers to the practice of protecting wild species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often ...

, or participate in contests held by wildlife conservation organisations.

Notable animal painters

Before 1800

* Francis Barlow (c. 1626-1704) * Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568-1625) * Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (1609-1664) *

Nicasius Bernaerts Nicasius Bernaerts, Monsù Nicasio or simply Nicasius(1620, Antwerp – 1678, Paris) was a Flemish painter of animals, hunting pieces and flowers who had an international career in Italy and Paris. He worked for the French court and provided t ...

(1620-1678) * Pieter Boel (1626-1674) *

Peter van Boucle Peter van BoucleName variations: Peter van Boeckel, Pieter van Boeckel, Pierre van Boucle, Pieter van Boeckel, Pieter van Bouck, Pieter van Boucle, Pieter van Bouck, Pieter Boucle, Pierre van Boucle (between 1600 en 1610 (?), probably Antwerp - 16 ...

(between 1600 & 1610-1673) *

Charles Catton Charles Catton RA (1728 in Norwich – 28 August 1798, in London), sometimes referred to as Charles Catton the elder, was a notable English coach painter, landscape, animal and figure painter of the late 18th century, and one of the founder mem ...

(1728-1798) *

David de Coninck David de Coninck or David de Koninck, also known as Rammelaer (ca. 1644, Antwerp – after 1701, probably Brussels) was a Flemish painter who specialised in still lifes and landscapes with animals and hunting scenes. Recognised as a leading ani ...

(c. 1644-1701+) * Marmaduke Cradock (1660-1716) * Thomas Davies (c. 1737-1812) * Alexandre-François Desportes (1661-1743) * Karel Dujardin (1622-1678) * C. G. Finch-Davies (1875-1920) *

Jan Fyt Jan Fijt or Johannes Fijt (or Fyt) (19 August 1609 – 11 September 1661) was a Flemish Baroque painter, draughtsman and etcher. One of the leading animaliers of the 17th century, he was known for his refined depictions of animals and his lus ...

(1611-1661) *

George Garrard George Garrard (31 May 1760 – 8 October 1826) was an English animal, landscape and portrait painter, modeller, sculptor, engraver and printmaker. He played a major role in lobbying Parliament to introduce legislation to protect the copyri ...

(1760-1826) * Sawrey Gilpin (1733-1807) *

Melchior d'Hondecoeter Melchior d'Hondecoeter (; 1636 – 3 April 1695), Dutch animalier painter, was born in Utrecht and died in Amsterdam. After the start of his career, he painted virtually exclusively bird subjects, usually exotic or game, in park-like landsc ...

(c. 1636-1695) * Samuel Howitt (1756/57–1822) * Jean-Baptiste Huet (1745-1811) *

Jan Baptiste de Jonghe Jan Baptiste de Jonghe or Jean-Baptiste de Jonghe (Kortrijk, 8 January 1785 – Schaerbeek, 14 October 1844) was a Belgian painter, draughtsman, etcher and lithographer. He is known for his Romantic landscapes with people, herds and ruins.

(1785-1844) *

William Lewin William Lewin (1747–1795) was an English naturalist and illustrator. Lewin grew up in Stepney, the son of a rate mariner. In 1776 he was earning a living as a pattern drawer, and by 1783 was describing himself as a painter. He specialised ...

(1747-1795) * George Morland (1763-1804) *

Balthasar Paul Ommeganck Balthasar Paul Ommeganck (sometimes also: Paul Balthasar Ommeganck) (1755–1826) was a Flemish painter of landscape painter, landscapes and animal painter, animals active in Antwerp. Through his work and his role as an art teacher and founder o ...

(1755–1826) *

Jean-Baptiste Oudry Jean-Baptiste Oudry (; 17 March 1686 – 30 April 1755) was a French Rococo painter, engraver, and tapestry designer. He is particularly well known for his naturalistic pictures of animals and his hunt pieces depicting game. His son, Jacques-Ch ...

(1686-1755) *

Paulus Potter Paulus Potter (; 20 November 1625 (baptised) – 17 January 1654 (buried)) was a Dutch painter who specialized in animals within landscapes, usually with a low vantage point. Before Potter died of tuberculosis at the age of 28 he succeeded in ...

(1625-1654) *

Philip Reinagle Philip Reinagle (1749 – 27 November 1833) was an English painter of animals, landscapes, and botanical scenes. The son of a Hungarian musician living in Edinburgh, Reinagle came to London in 1763 and after serving an apprenticeship, later be ...

(1749-1833) *

Sartorius family The Sartorius family of the 18th–19th centuries included several generations of English artists—of German origin—who mainly specialised in painting horses, horse-racing and hunting scenes: *Jacob Christopher Sartorius ( fl. 1694–1737), ...

* Roelandt Savery (1576-1639) * James Seymour (1702–1752) * Charles Loraine Smith (1751-1835) *

(1579-1657) *

George Stubbs George Stubbs (25 August 1724 – 10 July 1806) was an English painter, best known for his paintings of horses. Self-trained, Stubbs learnt his skills independently from other great artists of the 18th century such as Reynolds or Gainsborou ...

(1724-1806) * Charles Towne (1763-1840) * Jacob Xavier Vermoelen (c. 1714-1784) * Paul de Vos (1591/92 or 1595-1678), brother of Cornelis de Vos and brother-in-law of Frans Snyders * James Ward (1769-1859), brother-in-law of George Morland * Jan Weenix (between 1640 & 1649-1719) *

John Wootton John Wootton (c.1686– 13 November 1764)Deuchar, S. (2003). "Wootton, John". Grove Art Online. was an English painter of sporting subjects, battle scenes and landscapes, and illustrator. Life Born in Snitterfield, Warwickshire (near Stratf ...

(c. 1682–1764)

After 1800

* Henry Thomas Alken (1785-1851) * Richard Ansdell (1815-1885) *

John James Audubon John James Audubon (born Jean-Jacques Rabin; April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was an American self-trained artist, naturalist, and ornithologist. His combined interests in art and ornithology turned into a plan to make a complete pictoria ...

(1875-1851)Plain, Nancy ''This Strange Wilderness: The Life and Art of John James Audubon''. University of Nebraska Press, 2015. * Charles Burton Barber (1845–1894) *

James Barenger James Barenger (1780–1831) was an English animal painter and illustrator. Life Barenger was born in Kentish Town, London, the son of James Barenger Snr., a metal chaser and artist who exhibited paintings of insects at the Society of Artis ...

(1780-1831) * Henry Barraud (1811-1874); his son, Francis Barraud (1856–1924), painted "Nipper" the dog on the "

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice (HMV) was the name of a major British record label created in 1901 by The Gramophone Co. Ltd. The phrase was coined in the late 1890s from the title of a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, which depicted a Jack Russ ...

" record label *

Rosa Bonheur Rosa Bonheur (born Marie-Rosalie Bonheur; 16 March 1822 – 25 May 1899) was a French artist known best as a painter of animals (animalière). She also made sculpture in a realist style. Her paintings include ''Ploughing in the Nivernais'', firs ...

(1822-1899) * John Boultbee (1753-1812) *

Edmund Bristow Edmund Bristow (1 Apr 1787 – 12 Feb 1876) was an English animal, still life and subject painter. Life and work Bristow was born in Eton, Berkshire, the son of an heraldic painter. At an early age he was patronised by the Princess Elizabeth, ...

(1787-1876) * Abraham Cooper (1787–1868) *

Thomas Sidney Cooper Thomas Sidney Cooper (26 September 18037 February 1902) was an English landscape painter noted for his images of cattle and farm animals. Biography Thomas Sidney Cooper was born in St Peter's Street in Canterbury, Kent, and as a small child ...

(1803-1902) *

Horatio Henry Couldery Horatio Henry Couldery (1832–1918) was an English animal painter and illustrator noted especially for his depictions of domestic cats, kittens and dogs. He was born in Lewisham, London, and trained as a cabinetmaker before abandoning that tr ...

(1832–1918) *

John Dalby John Leonard Burkitt Dalby (April 22, 1929 – July 13, 2017) was an English singer, pianist and composer. Dalby was hailed in London and New York City for his witty and sophisticated cabaret performances. As an accomplished entertainer, he was ...

(1810-1865) * Samuel Daniell (1775-1811) *

Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( , ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: British ...

(1798-1863) * Herbert Dicksee (1862-1942) *

John Henry Dolph John Henry Dolph (April 18, 1835 – September 28, 1903) was an American painter. Eventually based in New York City, he became notable for his depictions of pets such as dogs and kittens. Life John Henry Dolph was born on April 18, 1835, in Fort ...

(1835-1903) * John Emms (1844-1912) *

Ivan Efimov Ivan Efimov (russian: Иван Семёнович Ефимов 11 February 1878 – 7 January 1959) was a Russian sculptor. Along with his wife, Nina Simonovich-Efimova, the couple founded the tradition of Soviet puppet theater. Since 1958 he ha ...

(1878–1959) * Frederick William Frohawk (1861-1946) *

John Gould John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist. He published a number of monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, including Edward Lear, ...

(1804-1881) * Roland Green (1890/6-1972) * Harry Hall (c. 1814-1882) *

Charles Hancock Charles Hancock FRCO (4 January 1852 – 6 February 1927) was an organist and composer based in England. Life His early musical education was as a chorister in the choir of St George's Chapel, Windsor. He was awarded his FRCO in 1872 and grad ...

(c. 1800-1877) * Heywood Hardy (1842-1933) *

John Frederick Herring Jr. John Frederick Herring Jr. (1820–1907) "John Frederick Herring Jr. (1820-1907)" (overview), Rehs Galleries, 2007, webpage: "Works by John F. Herring Jr., top $80,000 at Little sale" (news), ClickPress, July 2007, webpage: C ...

(1820–1907) * John Frederick Herring Sr. (1795–1865) *

William Huggins Sir William Huggins (7 February 1824 – 12 May 1910) was an English astronomer best known for his pioneering work in astronomical spectroscopy together with his wife, Margaret. Biography William Huggins was born at Cornhill, Middlesex, in ...

(1820-1884) *

Charles Jacque Charles-Émile Jacque (23 May 1813 – 7 May 1894) was a French painter of Pastoralism and engraver who was, with Jean-François Millet, part of the Barbizon School. He first learned to engrave maps when he spent seven years in the French Army. ...

(1813-1894) *

Lucy Kemp-Welch Lucy Elizabeth Kemp-Welch (20 June 1869 – 27 November 1958) was a British artist and teacher who specialised in painting horses. Though increasingly overlooked after the Second World War, from the late 1890s to the mid 1920s she was one o ...

(1869-1958) *

Frederick William Keyl Frederick William Keyl (originally Friedrich Wilhelm Keyl; 17 September 1823 – 5 December 1871), born in Germany, was an animal painter in England; he received many commissions for paintings from Queen Victoria. Life Keyl was born in Frankfur ...

(1823–1871) *

Charles R. Knight Charles Robert Knight (October 21, 1874 – April 15, 1953) was an American wildlife and paleoartist best known for his detailed paintings of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals. His works have been reproduced in many books and are current ...

(1874-1953) *

Wilhelm Kuhnert Friedrich Wilhelm Kuhnert (September 18, 1865 – February 11, 1926) was a German painter, author and illustrator, who specialized in animal images. After illustrating the books of Alfred Brehm, he travelled to German East Africa to observe a ...

(1865-1926) *

Edwin Landseer Sir Edwin Henry Landseer (7 March 1802 – 1 October 1873) was an English painter and sculptor, well known for his paintings of animals – particularly horses, dogs, and stags. However, his best-known works are the lion sculptures at the bas ...

(1802-1873) * Bruno Liljefors (1860-1931) *

George Edward Lodge George Edward Lodge FZS, (3 December 1860 – 5 February 1954)Savory ''op. cit.'' was a British illustrator of birds and an authority on falconry. Early life George Edward Lodge was born at Scrivelsby, Lincolnshire. His father, Samuel Lodg ...

(1860-1954) * Matilda Lotz (1858-1923) * Friedrich Wilhelm Kuhnert (1825-1896) *

John Guille Millais John Guille Millais ( , also ; 24 March 1865 – 24 March 1931) was a British artist, naturalist, gardener and travel writer who specialised in wildlife and flower portraiture. He travelled extensively around the world in the late Victorian pe ...

(1865-1931) * Sir Alfred Munnings (1878-1959) * Ramsay Richard Reinagle (1775-1862) * Jan Hendrik Scheltema (1861-1941) * Prideaux John Selby (1788-1867) * Vasily Vatagin (1883–1969) *

Christopher Webb Smith Christopher Webb Smith (30 May 1793 Camberwell - 18 January 1871 Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabita ...

(1793-1871) * Charles Tunnicliffe (1901-1979) *

Arthur Wardle Arthur Wardle (1864–1949) was a British painter. Born in London, aged just sixteen Wardle had a piece displayed at the Royal Academy. His first exhibit was a study of cattle by the River Thames, leading to a lifelong interest in painting ...

(1860-1949) *

Herbert William Weekes Herbert William Weekes (8 May 1841 – 21 November 1914) was a well-known English genre and animal painter of the Victorian Neoclassical period who specialized in portraying animals in humorous, human-like situations. Early life and family We ...

(c. 1842-1904+)

Modern

Modern wildlife art painters include: *

Thierry Bisch Thierry Bisch (born 1953 in Strasbourg, France) is a French artist. Early life and education Bisch comes from a family with industrial interests in France. The work of his great-grand father, the painter Louis Janmot (1814–1892), had a profoun ...

(b. 1953) *

Elizabeth Butterworth She raised parrots and loved them very much. Elizabeth Butterworth (born 1949) is an English artist, especially known for her paintings of parrots. She was born in Rochdale, Lancashire, and studied at the Rochdale School of Art 1966–1968, Maids ...

(b. 1949) - parrots * Charles Church (b. 1970) * John Clymer (1907-1989) *

Kim Donaldson Kim Donaldson (born 1952 in Southern Rhodesia) is a Zimbabwean artist who specializes in painting the peoples and wildlife of Africa. Having spent his early life on a ranch in what was Rhodesia, Donaldson was perfectly placed to develop and nu ...

(b. 1952) *

Gary Hodges Gary Hodges (born 1954) is a British artist and publisher much admired internationally for his graphite pencil wildlife art."Drawn to the Soul" Wild Press, Introduction by Simon Trapnell, 2010, His original drawings and limited edition prints h ...

(b. 1954) *

Ron Like Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe A ...

(b. 1935 ) *

Lanford Monroe Lanford Monroe (1950–2000) was an internationally known American realist painter and sculptor. She was best known for impressionistic oil paintings frequently featuring wildlife or equine subjects. She was the daughter of noted magazine illustr ...

(1950-2000) *

Stephen D. Nash Stephen David Nash (born 1954 in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, England) is an English wildlife artist who primarily specialises on primates. He is currently based at the Stony Brook University on Long Island, New York, USA, in the Department of Anatom ...

(b. 1954) * David Nurney (b. 1959) * David Quinn (b. 1959) *

Mark Upton Mark Upton (born 1964) is an English artist who specialises in portraits of animals, particularly horses and falcons. His main media are oil paint, watercolour and pencil. Early life Mark Lundy Upton was born in Wiltshire, England in 1964. ...

(b. 1964) *

Diana Joseph Diana most commonly refers to: * Diana (name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Diana (mythology), ancient Roman goddess of the hunt and wild animals; later associated with the Moon * Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997 ...

Sue Coleman Sue Coleman (born March 1947) is a Wildlife painter from England who moved to Vancouver Island, in Canada in 1967. Coleman is known for her watercolour paintings in which she uses a controversial Indigenous art style. She also paints west-coast ...

* J.S.Munnolli (b. 1940) Forerunners of modern wildlife art sculpture include: * Rembrandt Bugatti (1884-1916) * François Pompon (1855-1933) Modern wildlife art sculptors include: *

Tessa Pullan Tessa Pullan from Rutland, (born 1953) is an English sculptor. Biography Pullan was from 1971 to 1974 in France apprenticed to the sculptor John Skeaping and then gained a diploma from 1974 to 1977 at the City and Guilds of London Art School. ...

(b. 1953) *

John Rattenbury Skeaping John Rattenbury Skeaping, Royal Academician, RA (9 June 1901 – 5 March 1980) was an English sculptor and equine painter and sculptor. He designed animal figures for Wedgwood, and his life-size statue of Secretariat (horse), Secretariat is ...

(1901-1980) * Jo Walker

Gallery

File:Snyders Dogs fighting.jpg, ''Dogs fighting'' by

, who probably left the landscape background to another kind of specialist. File:Edwards' Dodo.jpg, '' Edwards's Dodo'' (1626) by Savery;

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more ...

, London. File:A sparrow. Engraving by P. Tempest, ca. 1690, after F. Barlo Wellcome V0022146.jpg, ''A sparrow'' (c. 1690) by Francis Barlow; engraving by Pierce Tempest. File:Jan Weenix 003.jpg, A typical composition of dead game from 1692 by Jan Weenix, probably an overdoor for a country house. File:Gulliver-taking-his-final-leave-of-the-land-of-the-houyhnhnms-sawrey-gilpin.jpg, Sawrey Gilpin's '' Gulliver taking his final leave of the land of the Houyhnhnms'' (1769). File:Birds of Prey, Goats and a Wolf, in a Landscape by Philip Reinagle.jpg,

's ''Birds of Prey, Goats and a Wolf, in a Landscape''. File:Morland Dogs.jpg, Morland's ''Dogs'' (1792);

Wawel Castle The Wawel Royal Castle (; ''Zamek Królewski na Wawelu'') and the Wawel Hill on which it sits constitute the most historically and culturally significant site in Poland. A fortified residency on the Vistula River in Kraków, it was established ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

. File:Young tiger playing with its mother.jpg,

, '' A Young Tiger Playing with its Mother'', 1830,

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

. File:LandseerMonarch1851.jpg, Landseer's '' Monarch of the Glen'' (1851);

National Museum of Scotland The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, and the adjacent Royal Scottish Museum (opened in ...

. File:Common foxes in the snow.jpg, ''Common foxes in the snow'' (1893) by Friedrich Wilhelm Kuhnert. File:Two thoroughbreds in a landscape by Charles Hancock, 1828.tif, ''Two thoroughbreds in a wide landscape'' (1828) by

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Animal Painter Animal painter Visual arts genres et:Animalist