Animal painting, particularly depictions of domesticated animals, was a common and highly valued genre throughout the nineteenth century. Today, however, most of the artists who specialized in this field have been forgotten, and the genre itself has little visibility in museum presentations – whether in exhibitions or digital formats. In many ways, this is surprising given the strong social and scientific interest in animals in our own time. For many people, animals are an integral and natural part of everyday life – as pets and family members, but also as sources of livelihood or objects of study. Within Swedish art history, the subject appears only in occasional artist biographies, and so far there has been no comprehensive or in-depth scholarly research on the topic.
Georg Arsenius (1855–1908), French Bulldog, NM 2593. Photo: Linn Ahlgren/Nationalmuseum.
The aim of this project is therefore to fill a gap in knowledge while also broadening the visual perspective and, in doing so, deepen our understanding of representations of animals in art. Drawing on theories from the academic field of Human-Animal Studies, I will analyze historical animal painting from both an art historical and intellectual historical perspective, as well as through a posthumanist critique of the idea of the human being as the measure of all things – that is, moving beyond anthropomorphism and symbolic interpretations.
David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl (1628–1698), Karl XI’s horse, Den lille Engländaren (The Little Englander), NMGrh 125. Photo: Viktor Fordell/Nationalmuseum.
The study will focus in particular on the interaction between the artist and their model; on studies and representations of animals; on how interactions between humans and animals, as well as between animals and their environments, have been depicted; and on the reception of animal painting in a broad sense. In other words, I approach the images as expressions – visual representations situated within a wider discourse in art and intellectual history concerning ideas and conventions about animals in relation to humans and environments.
Bruno Liljefors (1860–1939), Cat and Chaffinch, NM 2225. Photo: Nationalmuseum.
Bruno Liljefors (1860–1939), A Cat with a Young Bird in its Mouth, NM 2227. Photo: Erik Cornelius/Nationalmuseum.
Georg Arsenius (1855–1908), Dog, Lying Down, NM 2592. Photo: Erik Cornelius/Nationalmuseum.
David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl (1628–1698), Two Small Dogs, NMDrh 321. Photo: Anna Danielsson/Nationalmuseum.
Georg Arsenius (1855–1908), Black Horse, NMH 400/1926. Photo: Anna Danielsson/Nationalmuseum.