Bestiary: Animals in Art from the Ice Age to Our Age

by Christopher Masters

This lovely gift book explores fantastic beasts both real and invented, from every age and culture around the world.  Drawing on the world-leading scholarship and vast collections of the British Museum, Bestiary is a wonderful visual, thematic exploration of animals―real, surreal, and imaginary―as depicted on beautiful ritual objects and works of art. Famous masterpieces mix with little-seen artifacts from every age and around the globe. Arranged thematically into five chapters (wild, domestic, exotic, symbolic, and hybrids and mythical creatures), this book depicts animals in intelligent pairings and groupings of images that encourage the reader to find and learn the cultural context and connections between the origins of many different civilizations. An ancient Egyptian bronze divine cat sits next to a nineteenth-century print of English domestic feline bliss; a miniature Ice Age mammoth sits with an ancient engraved drawing of a horse; a Minoan acrobat leaps onto the back of a 3,500-year-old bull. Art historian Christopher Masters is a wonderfully clear and informative guide, illuminating familiar masterpieces and bringing lesser-known treasures into the light. This book will enchant animal lovers and gift buyers, as well as appealing to curious general readers and offering inspiration to the creative imagination.  350 illustrations

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, History

256 pages, Hardcover

Published October 16, 2018

Reviews

[Tam G · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is essentially an examination of the use of animals in the art and historical objects of the British Museum.

5 stars for the collection.
4 stars for succinctness of description and overall knowledge.
3 stars for unevenness of coverage. I was impressed that they tried. Obviously, every collection has it's strengths (the Egyptian, Assyrian, and English contributions are beyond amazing...the Americas, Africa, China, SE Asia were nominal and I noticed nothing from Australia, Russia, central Asia). Understandable in many ways. There was also an unfortunate graphic organization. The writer did a great job limiting themselves, but the fact that the pages were not always laid out in the order that he commented on made it confusing. I could see that the pictures were chosen in pairs and the commentary written in pairs, but when the layout department got to it they worked things as they fit.

So many beautiful works of art...and the subject of how people view animals over various cultures and centuries (millenia!) is an interesting one. Great for a survey. Good photography. Interesting and succinct facts. It made me curious about Albrecht Durer and reminded me of how much I love the stone reliefs of the Middle East. Worth a look if you have an interesting in history or art.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bestiary is a collection of 268 illustrations of animal-themed paintings, sculpture, and utilitarian objects from the British Museum. Art from prehistoric times through the early 20th century, and from all over the world, is offered for the reader’s contemplation. Pieces are displayed by subject rather than chronologically, with minimal descriptions, and every page filled with artworks. Readers therefore can compare and contrast art from different eras and locations. The works are more striking in their similarities than their differences. Each piece is carefully and concisely documented.

Artworks are divided into the following categories: wild, domestic, exotic, symbolic, and hybrids and other mythical creatures. Clay, stone, glass, precious metals and gems, bronze, and of course drawings and paintings are included. The brief commentary sparks interest without over-intellectualizing.

One of my favorite pieces is a bronze medallion from 1624 Korea with five stylized horses galloping in synch. Since only the elite were allowed to ride horses in 17th century Korea, these medallions were worn by on-duty government messengers to alert officials to their status. Other favorites include a blue, yellow, and white striped fish-shaped glass bottle from c.1350BCE Egypt, and satirical drawings and paintings from 16th and 17th century France and England that compare humans to animals in various unflattering (but observable) ways.

A great coffee table book for animal art lovers, and for artists looking for animal-themed inspiration.

[Christina Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Simply beautiful!
I knew that I had to read this as soon as I saw the subject matter. The British Museum and Thames and Hudson always produce beautiful books and this is no exception. The book is small, but hefty, full of gorgeous full-page photographs picking out details of artwork and artefacts showing animals. In picking out each of these objects and organising them roughly into themes rather than countries, this book illuminates links between countries and cultures and shines alight on the human relationship with animals through to ages, from objects of worship and veneration to sources of food or other resources.
Fascinating book which has made me want to go back to the British Museum to view these objects again!

Full review (complete with pictures) to come on my blog.

[C. M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book does what it does well. It would be unfair to rate it low just because it's fairly brief and more of a showcase (with explanations) of many different works throughout history than some in-depth philosophical reflection on artistic trends or whatnot. More of a book you'd occasionally pick up, look at some art examples, and lightly peruse than one you'd sit down to read chapter after chapter of dense text at once.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the information in this book and the photography is incredible. But the layout, wow does it let it down. Incredibly tiny fonts and clashing colours on some of the pages make this a tough read if that is problem for you. I also feel how it is written is very flowery and somewhat overwhelming, you are going to need to get a dictionary next to you.

[Andrea Engle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated, mainly from objects and paintings in the British Museum, this book examines the role of animals, both real and mythic, in art around the globe and across the centuries ... amazing in its variety ...

[Lesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a beautiful collection of artwork but the commentary was rather dry.