Creature Feature – A Small Display about Large Animals
Location: Gallery 4, first floor
Alpacas by Jacques Laurent Agasse (c.1840, oil on canvas)
The very first known paintings that humans made were of animals, revealing our early dependence on them. As art became more sophisticated, animals were depicted in different ways. Sometimes it was to record a particularly fine specimen of a breed, and sometimes it was to give them human characteristics for comic effect. In recent decades it has become apparent how much harm humans have caused the animal world. This display in our smallest gallery reflects on our varied relationship with animals using artworks from the VG&M collection.