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Art History Animalia

@arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social

4.1K followers 360 following 2.7K posts

Zoologist exploring animal iconography via intersections of natural history with art & visual culture history. AKA Deniz (she/they), PhD student @ UD. https://linktr.ee/arthistoryanimalia

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Art History Animalia @arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social · 1h

#MetalMonday :
Copper axe rattle with #Hummingbird
Manteño-Huancavilca culture, Ecuador (600–1532 CE)
From Museo De Arte Precolombino Casa del Alabado “All That Glitters is Not Gold” exhibition
www.instagram.com/p/DPoSIg2keXU/
#BirdsInArt #IndigenousArt

Art History Animalia @arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social · 13h

For #WorldSlothBearDay :
“Animal of the #Bear Kind (Petre Bear)” [Sloth Bears]
Plate 10 from Charles Catton the Younger (1756-1819) _Animals drawn from nature and engraved in aqua-tinta_ (London, 1788)
en.wikisource.org/wiki/Animals...

Art History Animalia @arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social · 13h

For the final day of #CephalopodAwarenessDays - #FossilDay: iridescent #ammonite fossil (Caloceras johnstoni), historical #sciart color plate from James Sowerby's _The Mineral Conchology of Great Britain_ v.5 (1825)
www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/5166030...

iridescent ammonite fossil (Caloceras johnstoni), color plate from James Sowerby's _The Mineral Conchology of Great Britain_ v.5 (1825)

Art History Animalia @arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social · 13h

Resharing for the final day of #CephalopodAwarenessDays - #FossilDay:

Art History Animalia @arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social · Apr 28

For #InverteFest:
#Ammonite Fossil in Black Marble #Bear Fetish
Artist: Lena Boone, Zuni Pueblo
On display at SRJC Multicultural Museum, CA (113.389)
#IndigenousArt #NativeAmericanArt

photo of the object on display at museum: a Zuni Pueblo bear fetish figure fashioned out of an ammonite fossil in black marble, outer end of spiral carved into a bear face with small blue eye (turquoise?)

Art History Animalia @arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social · 13h

Ammonites also happen to make super cute and cool Pokémon
😎🥰

a cartoon of a group of snails swimming in the water

ALT: a cartoon of a group of snails swimming in the water

media.tenor.com

Art History Animalia @arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social · 13h

For the final day of #CephalopodAwarenessDays - #FossilDay: "Ammonitida," Plate 44 in _Kunstformen der Natur_ by Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919), 1904. #Ammonite fossils!
www.biolib.de/haeckel/kuns...

"Ammonitida," Plate 44 in Ernst Haeckel's Kunstformen der Natur, 1904. Black and white print, composite of 10 fossil ammonite images:
1. Ammonites (Cardioceras) cordatus = Cardioceras cordatum, from side
2. Ammonites (Cardioceras) cordatus = Cardioceras cordatum, from below
3. Ammonites (Schloenbachia) Coupei = Schloenbachia varians?, from side
4. Ammonites (Schloenbachia) Coupei = Schloenbachia varians?, from below
5. Ammonites (Ptychites) opulentus = Ptychites opulentus, from side (outer shell layer removed)
6. Ammonites (Ptychites) opulentus = Ptychites opulentus, from below
7. Ammonites (ornatus) mammillaris = Douvilleiceras mammillatum, from side
8. Ammonites (planulatus) cavernosus = Puzosia planulatus, cross-section
9. Ammonites (amaltheus) rotula = Amaltheus margaritatus, from side
10. Ammonites (stephanoceras) Humphryi = Stephanoceras
humphriesianum, from side
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Haeckel_Ammonitida.jpg

Art History Animalia @arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social · 14h

Resharing for #WorldSlothBearDay

Art History Animalia @arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social · Oct 13

Today is also #WorldSlothBearDay!
“The ursine sloth, or sloth bear. In the gardens of the Zoological Society.”
19th c. colored etching by W. Panorma (1796-1867) after W. Berthoud.
Wellcome Collection
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Zo...

digitized image of an original 19th c. natural history art print; pair of sloth bears at the London Zoo

Art History Animalia @arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social · 1d

Resharing for #AfricanPenguinAwarenessDay 🐧

Art History Animalia @arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social · Oct 13

Today is also #AfricanPenguinAwarenessDay!
🚨 The African #Penguin (Spheniscus demersus) is an #EndangeredSpecies.
Plate by Joseph Smit (1836–1929) from “Report on the birds collected during the voyage of H.M.S. Challenger during the years 1873-76” (1881).
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sp...

digitized scan of a color book plate in portrait orientation, natural history art / scientific illustration: portrait of a standing African Penguin on the shore with colony in background

Art History Animalia @arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social · 1d

Resharing for #WorldMigratoryBirdDay

Art History Animalia @arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social · May 12

For #WorldMigratoryBirdDay :
Rie Muñoz (American, 1921-2015)
Migration, c.1977
Seriograph, 22.25" x 27.25"
www.mutualart.com/Artwork/Migr...

#WomenArtists #BirdsInArt

color print, illustration of a flock of 15 birds (Canada Geese) in flight on white background, elements of Pacific NW Coast art style

Art History Animalia @arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social · 1d

Resharing for #WorldMigratoryBirdDay

Art History Animalia @arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social · May 12

For #WorldMigratoryBirdDay:
Norbertine Bresslern-Roth (Austrian, 1891-1978)
Crane migration, before March 1937 oil on jute, 120×100 cm
imkinsky.com/en/auction-r...
🆔 Red-Crowned Crane (Grus japonensis)
#WomenArtists #BirdsInArt

oil painting depicting a closeup of a migrating flock of birds (Red-Crowned Cranes) flying over a seascape village, elements of Japonisme art style

Art History Animalia @arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social · 1d

Resharing for #WorldMigratoryBirdDay

Art History Animalia @arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social · Oct 13

For autumn #WorldMigratoryBirdDay:
Charley Harper (USA, 1922-2007)
Birds of a Feather [Red-Winged Blackbirds], 1974
Serigraph, 31 x 24 in.
www.charleyharperartstudio.com/birds-of-a-f...
#BirdsInArt

digital image of the serigraph, from an original painting: migrating flock of male red-winged blackbirds with autumn leaves blowing through, in Harper’s signature “minimal realism” style

“Flocking together as summer wanes, a brigade of bachelor red-winged blackbirds swings into the southbound lane, where traffic is backed up to the Arctic Circle. But where are the brownish females? Flocking apart. Red-winged congregations are strictly his or hers, except in spring when they sing, “I’m ok-a-lee, you’re ok-a-lee”, and consort among the cattails long enough to make sure there will always be red-winged blackbirds. Then it’s back to separate dorms—flocking together apart.”
–Charley Harper

Art History Animalia @arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social · 1d

Resharing for #WorldMigratoryBirdDay

Art History Animalia @arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social · May 11

Happy #WorldMigratoryBirdDay!
Norman Lewis (American, 1909-79)
Migrating #Birds, 1954
oil on canvas This entry won the Popular Prize at the Carnegie International Exhibition in 1955, making Lewis the first African-American artist to receive the award.
www.arthistoryproject.com/artists/norm...

"In 1955, Norman Lewis became the first African-American artist to receive the Carnegie International Award for this celebrated painting. The critic for the New York Herald-Tribune proclaimed Lewis's work "one of the most significant events of the 1955 art year." This work demonstrates Lewis's continued commitment to the natural world, using representation as the starting point for abstraction. Within the golden yellows which cover the canvas completely, Lewis creates a mass of movement and energy with his application of sharp, white strokes of paint which conjures up images of birds in flight. Lewis's sense of duality, the abstract and the representational, are in complete balance in this prized painting. The sensation is that of multitudes of birds taking flight in the blazing sun and sky."
https://www.theartstory.org/artist/lewis-norman/
image credit: Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York. © Estate of Norman W. Lewis [educational use]

Art History Animalia @arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social · 1d

Resharing for #WorldMigratoryBirdDay

Art History Animalia @arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social · May 10

For #WorldMigratoryBirdDay :
Andre Minaux (France, 1923-1986)
Migration, 1960s
Editions Braun et Cie., Paris (15/200)
Tapestry wallhanging printed on linen
49 x 64 in. (124.5 x 162.6 cm)
www.abell.com/auction-lot/...
#BirdsInArt

Reposted by Art History Animalia

Ennius @enniusredloeb.bsky.social · 2d

The battle of Cat and Mouse

BL Harley 6563; Book of Hours; c.1320 CE-c.1330 CE; England, S. E. (London); f.72r

Reposted by Art History Animalia

Ennius @enniusredloeb.bsky.social · 2d

The famous five: cat, mouse, weasel, mole, hedgehog

BL Harley MS 3244; Theological miscellany; 1236-c 1250 CE; England; f.49v

Art History Animalia @arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social · 2d

For #SquittleDay (squid and cuttlefish day!): 🦑
Bakufu Ohno (Japan, 1888-1976)
#Cuttlefish (Mongo-ika), 1940
From Familiar Fishes of Nippon (Dai Nihon gyorui hanga-in)
Oban, 40.3 x 28.4 cm
ukiyo-e.org/image/jaodb/...
#JapaneseArt #CephalopodWeek

vintage Japanese color woodblock print in landscape orientation, illustration of an inking cuttlefish (light brown & light blue body, black ink), with seals and signatures on lower left

Art History Animalia @arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social · 2d

For #SquittleDay (squid and cuttlefish day!): “cool shades” #squid in an ancient Roman sea bed mosaic, 2nd c. BCE. Archaeological Museum of Populonia, Piombino, Italy. 😎
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mo...
#CephalopodAwarenessDays

Cool squid in an ancient Roman sea bed mosaic - looks like it has sunglasses on its head LOL! (not covering the eyes, which are visible - like if you had your sunglasses resting on top of your head)

Art History Animalia @arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social · 2d

Resharing for #SquittleDay (squid and cuttlefish day!)
#CephalopodAwarenessDays

Art History Animalia @arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social · Apr 23

#MonochromeMonday :
Billy Missi (Torres Strait Islander, 1970-2012)
#Seahorses & #Squid, 1999
stone lithograph, 32 x 22 cm
www.mutualart.com/Artwork/Seah...

square black and white lithograph, illustration of a single squid surrounded by small seahorses

Reposted by Art History Animalia

Biodiversity Pics @biodiversitypix.bsky.social · 2d

😸 Dictionnaire universel d'histoire naturelle: .
Paris: Chez les editeurs MM. Renard, Martinet et cie, rue et Hotel Mignon, 2 (quartier de l'École-de-Médecine) ; et chez Langlois et Leclercq, rue de la Harpe, 81 ; Victor Masson, Place de l'Ecole-de-Médecin1847-1849.

[Source]

Illustration from the mid-19th century depicting two platypuses in a natural wetland setting. The larger platypus stands on land with brown fur, a duck-like bill, webbed feet, and a flat tail, while the smaller platypus is partially submerged in water with only its head and upper body visible. Surrounding them are detailed plants, including reeds and water lilies, emphasizing their aquatic habitat. The image combines detailed linework and naturalistic coloring, characteristic of historical zoological engravings.

Reposted by Art History Animalia

Alain Truong ♎🏳️‍🌈🏴‍☠️ @alaintruong.bsky.social · 2d

Ojime in the form of a spider on a chestnut, Japan, 1871–1900. Sentoku, 1.7 x 1.6 x 1 cm. EA1956.3754 © Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

Reposted by Art History Animalia

Alain Truong ♎🏳️‍🌈🏴‍☠️ @alaintruong.bsky.social · 2d

Gold-glass fragment with a lion, set in modern finger-ring, Roman, 201–400 CE. AN2007.15 © Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

Reposted by Art History Animalia

Alain Truong ♎🏳️‍🌈🏴‍☠️ @alaintruong.bsky.social · 2d

Tetradrachm coin with a bee, Turkey, silver, HCR5273 © Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

Reposted by Art History Animalia

Alain Truong ♎🏳️‍🌈🏴‍☠️ @alaintruong.bsky.social · 2d

Jan van Kessel, the Elder (1626–1679), Flowers and Insects. Oil on copper, 28.7 x 22 cm. WA1940.2.44 © Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

Art History Animalia @arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social · 3d

@wittspat.bsky.social 🦔👀

John McCafferty @jdmccafferty.bsky.social · 3d

Hedgehog, c. 1650 (Rijksmuseum)

I love its expression.

Reposted by Art History Animalia

John McCafferty @jdmccafferty.bsky.social · 3d

Jacob de Gheyn (II), ca. 1575 - ca. 1625 (Rijksmuseum)