Animals are universally loved because each animal represents a distinct attribute in cultures and civilizations. Adding an art print of the animal you relate to your home improves your mood. Animal art certainly sets the tone for a room in which you enjoy spending time.

Honing animal paintings, from colorful modern prints to expressive watercolors, is a terrific way to add a personal touch to your walls. This collection is likely to bring a smile to your face, whether you’re seeking a recall of a loving family pet, a witty take, or for the sake of appreciating masterpieces of famous animal painters.

Depiction of animals in a painting

Animal paintings are an important element of art history. There is even a genre called equine painting, which describes horse portraiture. Animals have been around on our planet for longer than humans. It is no surprise that the animal world has captivated artists.

Origin

To begin, animals were the primary subject matter for earliest artists, particularly those species that were essential to their survival. It was only by the flickering light of fires and oil lamps that the cave paintings could be seen. Besides the fact that they must have been significantly important to their makers and undoubtedly had some sort of religious significance, we have no idea why these images were created. But we can see that the drawings had a deep understanding of the animal yet they were pretty simple. Because these animals produced food, clothing, oil, and so much more, it’s evident that the people who created them knew exactly what they were doing.

Early man’s existence was predicated on his ability as a hunter. I believe that these caverns, where artists and their families lived in a dangerous existence, provide insights into why this art was so painstakingly painted on the cave walls.

Symbolism to science

Animals remained in art during the Middle Ages, but they were viewed as symbols, frequently appearing in religious works, exceptionally marginal illuminations to handwritten manuscripts. Many animals were depicted in mosaics and wall paintings discovered at Pompeii and other Roman settlements.

However, it wasn’t until the 15th century that animals were recognized as major themes for painters in their own right. It wasn’t long before the scientists who were only beginning to explore the animal kingdom required artists to help them illustrate their discoveries that had been made in far-off locations.

Renaissance draughtsmen like Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506), Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), and Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) were fascinated by the natural world and produced some of the best animal studies of the period.

A century later, artists like Melchior d’Hondecoeter (1636-95) filled vast canvases with exotic birds in exotic environments and also domesticated birds that can be found in private collections. In the late 16th and 17th centuries, a more scientific approach to animal studies led to the development of animal art as we know it today.

Animal Paintings in Modern Times

Early in the 17th century, artists began to depict hunting scenes or household life in which animals also joined human figures. Popular topics included the conflict between man and beast, which was used as a metaphor for unrestrained forces or human impulses.

Research into the natural world was booming in the 18th century, and artists were inspired by the beauty and intricacy of the animal world. Animals were depicted in Victorian salons of the 19th century as an integral part of the aristocracy’s daily life.

In the 20th and 21st centuries, contemporary art unified all prior means of expressing the animal world within art. Animals maintained both symbolic and descriptive values while also being regarded as equally essential characters.

In their detailed study of the animal body, many contemporary painters draw heavily on art and ancient or primitive cultures. Today, there is a highly relevant trend within art – animal rights activism, which combines all activist behaviors to terminate the chain of animal exploitation in all of its forms, including the arts.

A collection of famous animal paintings

A Limier Briquet Hound, ca. 1856, Rosa Bonheur, French

Rosa Bonheur, the French painter, and sculptor are known for the amazing precision and detail o her animal paintings. A brighter palette and a highly polished surface finish were remarkable characteristics of her painting, which is evident in this painting as well. After the 1850s, England saw the rise of a prosperous middle class. These were folks who wanted art in their homes, and as a result, artists benefited. People who adored dogs were a unique kind that couldn’t imagine life without their four-legged companion.

When you consider your dog to be a member of the family, you want to share that happiness with other dog owners. This life-like picture, created in 1856, during the mature period of her career, features a dog that belonged to a gentleman named Vicomte d’Armaille, and he was such a unique kind. It’s one of several portraits of hunting dogs and pets by Bonheur. The painting is so lively that you can see the genuine emotion and innocence of the Briquet hound, even through the picture.

A Limier Briquet Hound is one of Bonheur’s numerous animal portraits depicting hunting dogs and pets. Bonheur was a French painter of animals and sculptor known for accuracy and attention to graphic details of her paintings featuring animals.

Born in Bordeaux, France, in a family having four highly talented siblings, she was the eldest of them. She was enjoying sketching from her childhood days. Noticing her natural inclination toward sketching and painting, her mother, who was a music teacher herself, was employing highly ingenious methods of teaching to bring out the best in her daughter and nurture her potential talent.

Probably realizing that Bordeaux was too small a place to offer scope for developing the artistic and sculptural potentialities of their children, the family moved to Paris. She was admitted to a boarding school. She had carefree and tomboy manners. That resulted in schools refusing admission into a boarding school. However, her father realized the full extent of her potential. He encouraged her to take up painting landscapes, animals, and birds as her full-time profession. He took her to those places in and around Paris that are close to fields and animal habitats. This helped her develop her talent for realistic drawing and painting.

Her obsessional attachment to painting did not deter her from visiting primarily male-dominated places like horse fairs and slaughterhouses. Here the presence of female folks was rare. Her visits to these uncommon places did her good. It is thought that these places helped her gain a deeper understanding of animal emotion and behavior.

After her initial debut with two paintings at the Paris Salon in 1841, she exhibited her paintings every year. By the year 1843, Bonheur was selling her paintings regularly. She exhibited her paintings in Salon every year until 1855. In this way, not only did her popularity increase but she also earned more money. There was an inflow of sufficient income. She could travel to other destinations for studying as well as painting more and more animals.

Bonheur tasted commercial success in painting at a time when very few women had made any mark in this field. Her father’s firm belief in her artistic talent prodded them to treat her interest. He encouraged that she train in her field.’Plowing in the Nivernds’, Horse Fair’, Spanish Muleteers Crossing the Pyrenees’, ‘Sheep bt the Sea’, ‘Weaning the Calves’, ‘The Lion at Home’, ‘Portrait of William F. Cody’s, ‘Our English Coasts (Strayes Sheep), are some of her famous paintings depicting animals.

In her painting, ‘ A Limier Briquet Hound’, Bonheur depicted a real-life specimen of a dog owned by a person known to her. She paid undivided attention to painting the different parts of the animal’s physical structure with utmost care. This attribute has made the portrait famous. The sinewy muscular legs, its thoroughbred body, its focussed eyes, and the alertness in its gait have been painstakingly painted. It gives an impression as though the animal is sizing up its prey before pouncing on it.

Hunting Dogs with Dead Hare, 1857, Gustave Courbet, French

This painting is from the same year when Courbet’s hunting scenes were exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1857. It calls to mind the bit earlier The Quarry (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston), which features the same pair of hunting hounds but with a dead stag instead of a hare.

Courbet painted the dogs and scenery from memory. According to the German painter Otto Scholderer, the hare was modeled from life.

Autumn Landscape with a Flock of Turkeys, 1872-73, Jean-Francois Millet

Millet painted the picture for a dealer named Durand-Ruel. The picture is celebrated for its accuracy and detail. Millet portrayed a hillock with a single tree almost barren of leaves which he tried to set relatively far back in the picture.

The figure is of a woman seen from the back and a few turkeys. He also tried to indicate the village of Barbizon in the background. The tower of the nearby hamlet of Chailly-en-Bière can be seen from a distance.

Two Children Teasing a Cat, Annibale Carracci, Italian

What’s the magic of this painting? Viewers of this painting can imagine what would happen if they teased a sad cat. You can hear its growl, aren’t you? The small girl’s hand will undoubtedly get scratched.

As a result, the picture incorporates a time factor conveying a lesson “Let sleeping dogs lie.” This work is among the earliest Italian genre paintings, painted with a directness and spontaneity reminiscent of 19th-century art.

Calling the Cows Home, ca. 1872, Jean-Francois Millet, French

Millet had painted this subject in charcoal in 1857–58 and pastel in 1866. The picture depicts a realistic scene of a cowherd blowing his horn to collect his cattle at the end of the day. Millet referenced this painting in a letter to his friend and biographer, Alfred Sensier, in August 1872. He said, “I’ve groaned more than I’ve worked since I’ve done hardly anything but a sketch.” He must have indicated some deep-rooted pain through the painting.

Kintaro with Carp, 19th century, Japan

In Japanese culture, animals have carried spiritual and symbolic value since the ancient years. Carp symbolizes power and perseverance, and in Japan, “carp leaping the waterfall” represents achievement in life, particularly in the military.

Kintaro (Golden Boy), the protagonist of numerous heroic tales, serves as a role model for children. He was raised in the wild like Tarzan and exhibited incredible strength as a toddler. He’s facing off against a massive carp, with his arms and thighs bulging. Their struggling bodies emphasize the swiftness of the current.

Two Children Playing with Goldfish, ca. 1887, Kawanabe Kyosai, Japanese

Kyosai received much of his training in the workshop of Kano Tohaku after working briefly with Utagawa Kuniyoshi. Kuniyoshi was the last great master of the Japanese color print. He eventually gave up the strict rules of this master’s school in favor of a more free-wheeling one.

His work was influenced by Hokusai. Like this great painter, Kyosai enjoyed sketching figures. He created a feeling of vital energy and momentary activity in a few masterful strokes. This painting thus depicts the pure innocence of two children playing with goldfish.

Landscape with Cattle, probably ca. 1800, Jacob van Strij, Dutch

This excellent panel contained Aelbert Cuyp’s characteristics and was never questioned as to his work until now. Cuyp’s paintings were immensely admired in the 18th century, and he spawned plenty of imitators. Jacob van Strij, the most competent of them, is most likely the creator of this painting.

The impasto treatment of the clouds, the simplified highlights, the saturated greens and blues, and the desire to represent details as picturesque accents are all characteristics of an 18th-century painter. Although several motifs from Cuyp’s paintings are repeated, it indicates mostly Strij’s work.

The Start of the Race of the Riderless Horses, 1820, Horace Vernet, French

Rome’s Carnival, which takes place in February just before Lent, was known for its horse races with no riders. Vernet depicts grooms’ struggle to hold horses before the start of the race, known as “la mossa.” in the Piazza del Popolo, which Goethe dubbed “one of the finest sights that can be seen anywhere in the world.”

At the time he created this piece, Vernet was well aware of Gericault’s studies on race and used them as inspiration for a larger composition bought by the French Ambassador to Rome (now a private collection).

Doe and Two Fawns, 1882, Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait, American

Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait is an American painter best known for his wildlife paintings. The works of notable English animal painters such as Ansdell and Landseer aided Tait’s development. He was also inspired by John Ruskin’s idea of “truth to nature.” Tait’s paintings were immensely popular and sold quickly. His “Doe and Two Fawns” is the 95th painting recorded in 1882. It was sold the same year for one hundred dollars to a buyer named Reichard. Since it is done with fast brushstrokes, it preserves a spontaneous character that is sometimes lost in the artist’s more finely finished and overdramatic works.

Eagle Head, Manchester, Massachusetts (High Tide) 1870, Winslow Homer American

“Eagle Head” depicts three ladies in an intimate post-swim moment. One of them is drying her hair by flipping it upside down. The other is sitting on the sand and fastening her shoes. It’s hard to tell if someone is posing or even aware that they’re being observed. In fact, they’re not even trying to look each other in the eyes at all. A little terrier stands by, possibly having been sprayed by the water in the women’s wet hair.

Simple yet daring subject to choose at that time. The subject was revised in Every Saturday Magazine illustration of 1870, saying the original one was too gloomy to be digested. Even the dog was replaced by a bathing cap.

Brown and White Norfolk or Water Spaniel (1778) by George Stubbs

The renowned English anatomical draftsman and animal painter George Stubbs is famed chiefly for his horse paintings. He was a self-taught artist who had a lifelong passion for anatomy. Earlier in life, he worked with renowned anatomists. Stubbs’ drawings were noticed by major aristocratic patrons before his book was published, and they recognized that his work was more accurate than that of earlier horse painters like James Seymour, Peter Tillemans, and John Wootton.

Throughout the 1760s, he painted numerous individual and group portraits of horses, occasionally accompanied by dogs. This is such a painting, and you can notice the fine detailing by the spaniel’s hair alone.

Countryside near Grez-sur-Loing (1889) by Camille Pissarro

The artist drew inspiration from nature to hone his craft. Landscapes and agriculture are prominent themes in his work, which demonstrates this piece of artwork. Humanism was a passion for him, and he wanted to share that passion with others. As a result, his artworks often feature countryside, peasants, peasantry, and domestic animals. The urge to grow or develop was the approach he used, which is evident in his themes of isolation.

Rabbits on a Log, 1897, Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait, American

At the Royal Manchester Institute (now the City Art Gallery), Tait learned to paint by copying art masterpieces. In the 1840s, he assisted American Indian artist George Catlin, who was touring with his Indian show. His passion for nature and hunting was kindled by Caitlin, who encouraged him to go to New York City in 1850 and establish a camp on Long Lake in the Adirondack Mountains.

Tait followed the pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and Victorian art critic John Ruskin’s “truth to nature” concept, creating wonderfully realistic pictures of wildlife in its natural habitat, which is evident in the portrayal of rabbits in the painting.

Pigeons in a Tree ca. 1887 Watanabe Seitei Japanese

Woodblock printmaker and nihonga painter Yoshikawa Yoshimata, commonly known as Watanabe Seitei, was born in Edo in 1851. Kikuchi Yosai, one of the most celebrated artists of the Meiji period, was Watanabe’s first teacher, and Shibata Zeshin was his second. In 1875, a flower print he made for the Industry and Commerce Company won a flower-crest award, and it was his first major achievement.

It was only after Watanabe became successful and Zenshin was selected for an international exhibition in Vienna that Watanabe decided to follow in his footsteps and travel to Europe to study with his teacher. He created “Pigeons in a Tree” during this period.

Peacocks, 1683, Melchior d’ Hondecoeter, Dutch

Hondecoeter is the fourth generation of a family of artists originally from Flanders. He was born in Utrecht but moved to Amsterdam around 1663. His enormous paintings of exotic birds in the park-like environments, like this one, adorned the walls of magnificent town mansions whose owners also enjoyed or imagined escapes to country estates.

Rats amongst the Barley Sheaves, 1851, Thomas Hewes Hinckley

Hinckley was determined to be an artist despite his father’s strong disapproval. After his father died in 1833, he began by painting signs and portraits. He immediately shifted his artistic attention to painting animals. By 1845, his animal paintings had sold well enough for him to open a studio, and he became well-known for his cattle paintings. “Rats amongst the Barley Sheaves” is set in a barn, and the innocent scenario portrays the farmer’s dogs playing with rats. Hinckley painted twenty to twenty-five paintings per year, and towards the end of his life, he had signed an estimated 478 pieces.

A Man and a Woman on Horseback, ca. 1653-54, Philips Wouwerman

Early works by the Haarlem painter Wouwerman show a canal bank where work, rest, and pleasure all coexist for a brief while. While he was best known for painting horses, the artist was also a gifted landscapist and a keen observer of human behavior.

My Bunkie, finished 1899, Charles SchreyvogelLike Remington, Schreyvogel drew inspiration for his depictions of cowboys and cavalrymen from personal experience as well as macho fantasies. His “My Bunkie” depicts a story he was told by a veteran frontier trooper he met in Colorado.

A soldier bravely rescues a fellow soldier who has lost his horse in a clash with unseen Native Americans in the middle of a ferocious battle on the plains. Two more cavalrymen keep firing, defending, and sheltering their comrades. With its common codes of comradeship and freeze-frame suspended animation, the picture drew similarities to Remington’s “Wounded Bunkie.”

The Dispatch-Bearer, ?1879, Giovanni Boldini, Italian

Boldini made his Salon debut in 1879 with this vignette of modern urban life. The partially visible inscription “Garde républicaine” on the soldier’s rucksack shows that he is delivering messages on behalf of the Paris municipal guard. He arrived so early that the concierge was still washing the pavement; a couple bid a quiet farewell at right.

Large glasses outside an optician’s business invite viewers to examine the action closely. One critic described the picture as “a bit casual and glittering” but applauded its sense of vitality and speed (mostly due to the grandeur of the horse), concluding that “Boldini is more than a fashion painter.”

Songbird on blossom branch (1900 – 1936) by Ohara Koson, (1877-1945)

Koson Ohara (also known as Shoson or Hoson) was a kacho-e (bird and flower pictures) master of the early 20th century. Koson brought the genre into the modern era with meticulous detail, soft color, and a clear appreciation for nature and animals. Matao O’hara, Koson’s given name, was born in Kanazawa. He began his creative career as a student of Shijo-style master Kason.

He became a teacher at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts around the turn of the century, where he met Ernest Fenollosa, an American collector, scholar, and enthusiast of Japanese art and culture. In 1905, Koson began to print woodblocks for the first time. Fenollos, the curator of Japanese art at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and an adviser to the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo convinced Koson to sell his bird prints to American art collectors.

Surprised!, 1891, Henri Rousseau, France

Henri Rousseau was a post-impressionist painter who popularized the portrait landscape genre. His works are inspired by pictures, exotic cultures, and naive art. “Surprised!” is a surreal picture of natural forces in the form of a tiger in the jungle. It has significant symbolism and connects nature with the deep instincts and untamed side of the human mind as one of the most famous animal paintings.

Bull Plates, 1945, Pablo Picaso, Spain

Pablo Picasso’s iconic Bull study symbolizes the master class in abstract art. Picasso resurrected the entire history of art with the numerous references contained inside this animal art piece. Picasso progressed from prehistoric cave paintings to Dürer’s Rhinoceros study and visual expressionism, then to cubism, and finally to modern abstract painting in 11 lithograph plates. The last plate, the eleventh, displays a bull in a simplified linear abstract fashion.

Paulus Potter (Dutch, 1625 – 1654) The “Piebald” Horse, about 1650–1654

The Piebald Horse: Paulus Potter was one of the finest Dutch painters of his day and he was well known for his animal paintings. The Piebald Horse is one of his accredited paintings in which he painted the horse with great attention. The word piebald stands for the combination of large patches of dark hair blending with the white hair grown on the pink skin of the animal. In this painting, The Piebald Horse, the painter paid minute attention to the physical details of the animal, such as the contrasting colors of its hairy coat, shiny mane, sparkling eye, and the sleek and well-defined contours of its immaculately nourished body. At the same time, the artist showered his artistic excellence in portraying the horse as an individualized personality that combines wildness with acute sensitivity. Positioned majestically under the wavy clouds overhead and the sprawling fields in front, the animal, with its head turned sideways, probably toward the proud owner, seems to respond to his distant commands.

Tiger’s Head by Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849–1921)

Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849 –1921) was an American artist and was well-known as a painter of portraits, animals, and landscapes. He is also famous for his depiction of angels in his paintings, making use, at times, of the innocent elegance of his children as models.

He was also a naturalist and teacher and he enjoyed overwhelming prominence during his lifetime. His paintings featured in most of the major American art collections and they are widely appreciated for their portrayal of the animals by the painter.

The book titled ‘Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom’, which he published together with his son was a subject matter of controversy in military circles for their depiction of the camouflaging effect. Born the son of a country doctor in Boston and brought up in a rural setting, he became an amateur artist and his initial artworks consisted of watercolor paintings of animals.

The Tiger’s Head, the painting in which he flaunted the powerful strokes of his brush to give finesse to the animal in this canvas was the highlight of his career. Probably, the canine features of the cat lying on his lap in one of his photographs should have tinged his artistic nerves to feature the tiger in this painting.

Life-Size Black Bass (1904) by Winslow Home

Winslow Homer (1836 –1910), an American landscape painter, was well known for his paintings of marine subjects. Considered as one of the frontlines and prominent painters of 19th-century America, he acquired the artistic traits mostly from his talented mother in the early days of life and to a large extent honed his talent on his own.

When, later in his life, he started his career as a commercial illustrator, his oil painting skill received a major boost and helped him to a great extent in producing some of the masterpieces of marine life in oil painting canvas.

One such well-acclaimed piece of painting was the ‘Life Size Black Bass’. It is said that this was his final tropical watercolors which he painted during one of his fishing errands in Homsassa, Florida. The excellent depiction of the underbelly of the giant-sized and brightly colored fish was also reported to be an attempt by the painter to portray the drama and excitement of the fisherman and the suspense hanging around the life and death of a beautiful specimen of the water world.

Winslow Homer (1836-1910), a Boston-born painter, was known for his masterly works of art on marine subjects that figured prominently in the arena of watercolor paintings of 19th century America. In his childhood, he drew inspiration from his mother, who herself was an amateur painter.

Later, his brief apprenticeship in a lithographic firm in Boston, which involved the copying of the designs of other artists served as an impetus to his artistic instincts. His next stink as an artwork illustrator provided a further boost to his budding desire to give expression to his artistic skills.

Though a thorough city-bred Newyorker, his yearning to stay close to nature took him to the shores of the Atlantic sea and the Hudson River. His painting, ‘Boy and Girl in a Field with Sheep’ (1878) shows his desire to stay close to nature and his penchant for giving expression to his natural impulse to translate the pristine nature into a wonderful work of art. The magical strokes of his brush in this oil painting have left an everlasting impression in the minds of both the contemporary world of art and the art enthusiasts alike.

Edgar Degar, (1835-1917), a French Impressionist artist known for his pastel drawings and oil paintings was also the proud owner of other rare traits such as specialisation in bronze sculptures, prints and drawings. He was identified with the subject of dance and a sizable portion of his creations relate to dancers. Although

Degas is one of the prominent founders of Impressionism in that timespan, he unlike others preferred to be called a realist and, hence, he did not paint outdoors as many other Impressionists did. Degas excelled as a draftsman and commands mastery over the portrayal of human and animal physical movements in his paintings, such as the rendition of ballet dancers, depiction of the racehorses and the racing jockeys.

‘The Races’ is one of his masterpiece paintings in which he dealt with the intricate positioning of the horses on the move and the jockeys riding these horses superbly. The rendering of the different postures of the horses and the jockeys astride on these animals placed the painter among some of the best of his contemporaries.

Attributed to Johannes Lingelbach (Dutch, 1622 – 1674) Battle Scene, about 1651–1652

Johannes Lingelbach was a Dutch painter associated with the second generation of Bamboccite, which referred to a group of genre painters working in Rome in the 17th century. Lingelbach was born in Frankfurt and his prolonged association with the well-known painters in Italy is manifested by their works of art in his paintings.

His skills in painting genre figures and his style of the depiction of architectural and natural objects brought so much fame that he was often invited by other Dutch master painters of landscapes to paint his figures and animals in their landscape prices.

Though he followed the styles of other original Bambocianti, he succeeded in bringing up his own style of painting to influence the works of other Northern European painters. Most of his paintings show Italian influence in so far as their realism and fineness are concerned. All his paintings on the battlefield, including the one called ‘Battle Scene’, featured an impressive-looking white horse as their hallmark.

The shining white horse painted against the backdrop of other pale-colored elements in the canvas leaves an everlasting influence in the minds of art lovers.

Camille Pissarro’s A Cowherd at Valhermeil, Auvers-Sur-Oise

Pontoise is a common location for many of Pissarro’s paintings. The road in the painting is the one that connects Valhermeil in Auvers to Pontoise. Many scenes contain similar elements; green pastures, rural scenes, houses with red roofs, and farm animals. Loose brushstrokes were common among Pissarro’s paintings in 1874. His paintings’ transformation to pointillism can be seen in his loose brush strokes.