Description:
What's the oldest subject in art? It's not lily pads or naked maidens, but animals. They were depicted in Paleolithic cave drawings, in Egyptian tomb paintings, and in ancient Roman and Egyptian art. Compiled by art historian Edward Lucie-Smith, Zoo, with reproductions of more than 300 animal-centric artworks and brief chapter introductions by the author, offers a colorful, compelling introduction to this enormous subject. In chapters such as "In the Jungle," "Creatures of the Air," and "Microcosmos," Lucie-Smith brings together similar animal subjects, revealing how disparate cultures and artists have viewed and mythologized other living creatures in radically different ways. He places, for example, ivory Inuit carvings of polar bears near an image of a polar bear in a 16th-century Dutch illustration: in the carvings, the bears embrace; in the illustration, the lone bear is a dangerous predator. The smaller-than-average format of Zoo, seven-by-five inches, means many of the reproductions here are details of a larger piece, or are larger works that have been reduced to fit into a small space. This may frustrate some serious art viewers, but the average reader will appreciate how much terrific art has been fit into this lively, manageable volume. --Maria Dolan
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