UY 321

In 1933, “Detective Dan, Secret Op. 48″ was the first comic, sold on the newsstands, with original material in it. It was written by Norman Marsh and published by Humor Publishers Corp. It had a 3 color cardboard cover and was done in black and white. It was 36 pages long, sold for 10 cents and was 10 by 13. The character was actually a Dick Tracy clone and today probably would have been sued for plagiarism. The comic didn’t last very long.

In the 1930′s free comics became popular mostly because of the depression. Nobody could afford to buy comics. Thousands of comics were given away for the sole purpose of advertising the products in them and to keep the presses running which would have been very costly to shut down and start back up again. Some of the most well known giveaways were Buck Rogers and Little Orphan Annie.

In 1933 a gentleman by the name of Harry Wildenberg came up with the idea of advertising the Gulf Oil Company through comic books and thus “Gulf Comic Weekly” was created on April 30th 1933. The entire comic was only 4 pages long and was 10 1/2 by 15. The comic was given away at Gulf gas stations. This comic series lasted until May 23, 1941.

Wildenberg also came up with an idea to do a full sized comic book which was called “Funnies On Parade” and came out in the spring of 1933. It was the first comic to use the standard 8 by 11 format that we use today. This comic was the start of the Eastern Color Group.

“Famous Funnies” was the second book done by ECG. It was printed in 1933, was 64 pages long and cost 10 cents. It was the first comic to be sold only through department stores.

In 1934 ECG and Dell Publishing formed a partnership and another issue of “Famous Funnies” was printed. It was 64 pages long and still sold for 10 cents. The comic lost lots of money and changes were made after, to reduce publishing costs including publishing just once a month instead of weekly.

It wasn’t until 1936 that comic books really began to take off with the merging of The Chicago Tribune and Max Gaines. They created “Popular Comics” which included famous characters such as Dick Tracy, Terry & the Pirates, Gasoline Alley, Skippy, Mutt and Jeff, Tailspin Tommy, Little Orphan Annie and many more. “Popular Comics” lasted 145 issues and ended in 1948. This comic is what put Dell on the map and to this day they are one of the largest comic book publishers.

In 1936 another major player came along by the name of King Features. They created “King Comics” which featured some memorable characters such as Flash Gordon, Popeye, Mandrake the Magician, The Lone Ranger, The Phantom, Prince Valiant, Blondie and Little Lulu. “King Comics” lasted 159 issues until 1952.

It was during this time that the last major player of the era, “DC Comics” was created. They featured some popular characters such as Mr. Mystic, Federal Agent and of course what would turn out to be the most popular comic of all time, “Superman.”

Yes, comics have had an amazing history. Today there are more titles than any one person could possibly keep up with. And to think it all started so humbly and so simply.

History of Comic Books, Part 2

Miran — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 11:47:52 +0000

The Platinum age started with a book that came out in 1897 titled “The Yellow Kid in McFadden’s Flats.” It was 196 pages long and in black and white. The cost was 50 cents and was published by G. W. Dillingham Company. It was actually part of a series Dillingham did on American authors. The phrase “comic book” was actually coined with this printing as the phrase was written on the back cover.

In 1899 a “Funny Books” comic came out which featured the format that became the traditional comic book format of the Platinum age. It was hard cover and very large at 16 1/2 by 12 inches. The book was created by F.M. Howarth, but published by E.P. Dutton. It was a black and white collection of reprints from the Puck magazine.

It wasn’t until 1901 that the first color comic book came out. It was called “The Blackberries” and was 9 by 12 in hardcover.

Around that same time, what became the most used format for comic books at 17 by 11 inches, came out. Some of the early titles of this format were “The Katzenjammer Kids”, “Little Nemo” and “Happy Hooligan.” It was during this time that the first “Buster Brown” comic was created, the character from which the Buster Brown shoes were made. As a matter of fact because of the success of Buster Brown many companies used the comic to sell their merchandise.

In 1910 the now popular “Mutt and Jeff” came out with a new format, the reprinting of daily strips in black and white. The book was still hard cover but was 15 by 5 inches. It was published by Ball Publishing and 5 volumes were published.

Then in 1919, Publisher Cupples & Leon used a different format. They were 10″ by 10″ with 4 panels per page. They were black and white, 52 pages for 25 cents. Titles and characters used for these books was “Mutt & Jeff” and “Bringing up Father.”

It wasn’t until 1922 that the first monthly published comic came out. The date on the cover was simply January and was 10 cents. The format was 8 1/2 by 9. The title was “Comics Monthly” and only lasted 12 issues. Each issue featured a different King Features comic character. The characters featured during this 12 month run were “Polly and Her Pals”, “Mike and Ike”, whom the candy was named after, “S’Matter Pop”, “Barney Google”, “Tillie the Toiler”, “Indoor Sports”, “Little Jimmy”, “Toots and Casper”, “Foolish Questions” and “Barney Google and Spark Plug.” These were all reprints of comics originally printed in 1921.

In 1926 the forever popular “Little Orphan Annie” was first published by Cupples and Leon in 7 by 9 format. These were printed in both hard and soft cover and were 60 cents each.

It wasn’t until 1929 that Dell, one of the soon to be larger comic book publishers, got into the act. Their first comic was called “The Funnies” and was done in tabloid size format. The comic was 16 pages and sold for 10 cents. It was sold at news stands along with the newspapers. What was unique about this comic was that it was done in 4 colors and was not a collection of reprints but original comics.

In 1930 Walt Disney also got into comic books with the “Mickey Mouse Book” published by Bibo and Lang. It was 9 by 12 and 20 pages long. Inside the comic were also games, stories and songs. This was really more a magazine than a comic and it really wasn’t until 1931 that the first true Mickey Mouse comic came out. It was 32 pages long, 5 1/2 by 8 1/2 and published by David McKay Company. Over 50,000 copies of this comic were published. Between 1931 and 1933 there were a number of Mickey Mouse based comics that were published.

In the last issue we’ll go over the years of 1933 to 1938. The reason for devoting one issue to only 6 years is because it was during this time that comic book publishing really took off and comics started coming out of the woodwork.

History of Comic Books, Part 1

Miran — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 19:31:30 +0000

Comic books. Arguably one of the largest industries in the world. To be able to store every comic ever written you would need a city the size of New York and even then I think you would run out of room. No question, comic books are here to stay. So when did this multi billion dollar a year industry actually start.

Actually the origin of comic books is not really known for certain. Up until recently there was one theory of what the first comic book was. Then new evidence suggested that this was incorrect. We may never really know when comic books started but as of this writing the first known comic book was “The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck” which was written in 1837 somewhere in Europe in several languages. In 1842 an English version of this comic was printed for the United States, more specifically New York City. The comic was 40 pages long and didn’t really resemble the comics that we are used to seeing today. There were no word balloons with dialogue. Instead there was text typed at the bottom of each panel to describe the story. A copy of this comic was recently discovered in Oakland CA. The comic itself was done by Rudolphe Topffer who in Europe, was considered to be the creator of the picture story. He created the comic strip in 1827 as a graphic novel. After that he created 7 more graphic novels in many different languages including copies for the United States. These books stayed in print until about 1877. This was considered to be the Victorian Age of comic books which is still incomplete and still being researched even until today.

Even though many comics were printed after that, they have fallen into obscurity and the next known comic book was published in 1894 called “The Yellow Kid.” The Yellow Kid was actually a character derived from the comic “Hogan’s Alley” but the kid was so popular that the comic book became known by his name rather than by the official title of the comic book. Hogan’s Alley was created by a gentleman by the name of Richard Outcault who actually got his start writing for “Truth Magazine”. In an issue of “Truth” he did a character cartoon featuring “The Yellow Kid” and it’s from that initial publishing that the actual comic came into being a short time later. It is believed that Outcault got his inspiration for “Hogan’s Alley” from several cartoonists including Michael Angelo Wolf and Charles Saalburg, both of whom used street kids in their cartoons. It is believed that the title “Hogan’s Alley” came from the song “O’Reilly and the Four Hundred” which starts off “Down in Hogan’s Alley.”

Value of Comic Books

Miran — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 09:49:42 +0000

The value of a particular comic depends upon what series it is, the issue and edition of the comic, and the condition or grade of the comic. In this article I’ll discuss different approaches to appraising a comic book and the advantages and disadvantages of each, allowing you to judge which approach is best for you.

The issue number of your comic should be on the cover. If you don’t see it, it will also be in the publishing information somewhere within the comic, usually on the inside cover or first page. In that information you will also find the edition of your comics, which is the year your comic was printed.

Determining the grade of your comic is more difficult. One method is to submit your comic to a comic book grading company, such as the CGC. Grading companies provide the most reliable grading of a comic, but you must pay them a fee. While some people submit their comics out of curiosity, for most people it isn’t worth the cost. If you’re going to sell a comic, then it may be worthwhile submitting it because professionally graded comics tend to sell at higher prices. However, even in this situation, the higher selling price may still not justify the cost of grading. Checking an auction website such as eBay to compare the selling prices of professionally and non-professionally graded comics can help you determine whether professional grading is worth it for you.

Another method to grade your comics is to take them to your local comic shop or dealer. In many cases they will grade comics for free, but their opinion should be taken with a pinch of salt. They may try to suggest that your comic is in worse condition than it actually is in order to buy it from you cheaply. Not all dealers will do this, but it’s still important not to make decisions based on their advice alone to protect yourself.

My final method is to grade your comics yourself. Without experience of grading, it is difficult to accurately grade comics. It’s very easy to grade your comics higher than they actually are. That said, this method is relatively easy. You can search the Internet for grading guides, and as a starting point, your own grading will probably do.

Once you have the series, issue, edition, and grade of your comic, you can determine the value of your comic. I personally recommend using a price guide, and then searching auction websites and other comic websites that give prices (you can easily find them by searching the Internet). There is no guarantee that your comic will sell at the price you find, for comics are only worth what someone will pay for them, but you should have a fairly reliable idea of its value.

Basic Drawing Techniques

Miran — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 09:02:54 +0000

Drawing is a lot of fun, and my life would not be nearly as enjoyable as it is now if I didn’t know how to draw. Learning to draw is not as hard as some people make it out to be, or as your own experiences might have told you. The key is to start out with the basic drawing techniques. Picking up and eventually mastering these simple techniques will form the foundation of your entire drawing adventure.

So here are the basic drawing techniques you will need to learn if you want to start out with drawing.

First, it is very important that you stay mentally focused. Teaching yourself to draw naturally means you are training your brain to understand how to draw, and this is a mindset that can only be developed through practice, practice, and more practice. So keep at it and do not give up. Keep yourself motivated, don’t throw any of your drawings out, no matter how bad you think they are. Being able to look back at your older drawings as you are learning is a fantastic way to stay aware of the progress you have made.

Doodling, as silly as it may sound, is actually a great way for you to start developing your skills. Doodling allows you to start putting lines on paper and not worry about the outcome, this is the beginning of training your brain to think differently when it comes to drawing.

Similarly, sketching is a great way to keep your brain free from what it thinks drawing is. Contrary to doodling, with sketching you do focus on the outcome, but not on the particular way you make that outcome real. You just freely draw what you want to draw. Again, what it eventually looks like does not matter, only that you are training your brain to draw.

Once you’ve got the hang of getting some of your creative thoughts on paper, even if it’s not exactly what you want, you are making progress. It is then that you should consider moving on to slightly more advanced techniques, such as:

Contour drawing: Contour drawing means that you only draw the outlines of the objects you are drawing. Not the details, not the shading, just the outlines. You can take an entire scene, the very room you are now in, for example, and just draw the outlines of the objects you see. This is an easy way to train your brain to see the individual lines an object is composed of, and not the object as a whole.

Another technique to use is hatching. With hatching, you just draw the shape of an object with straight parallel lines, usually diagonally. Like contour drawing, hatching allows your brain to focus on the shape of an object, rather than identifying what the object is, which is what your brain normally wants to do. You can take this one or two steps beyond and add depth or additional detail by using the proximity and/or thickness of the parallel lines to determine tonal value. To get even more advanced, you can use crosshatching, which is to say that you create multiple overlapping layers of lines crossing eachother to create even more depth and detail. Crosshatching by itself is a commonly used shading technique.

To get used to shading and lighting, you can apply tonal drawing techniques. By only drawing the darker values of the object you are drawing, and therefore accentuating the lighter values, you are getting used the the concept of depth, and lighting. Tonal drawing means that you do not use strong edges or lines. Drawing the shades is easily accomplised by blurring the areas that are darker. I would suggest using a blending stump instead of your fingers, as your fingers leave an oily residue that can damage the drawing over time

One last essential technique you have to know and conquer is perspective drawing. Look at how the lines of an object converge as they approach the horizon. The point at which they converge is called the vanishing point. You can train yourself to draw in perspective by starting out with simple geometric shapes, and moving on to more complex shapes as you get the hang of it.

Combine some or all of these techniques, and learning how to draw will become an easy and very satisfying experience for you.

Drawing Wildlife, Part 2

Miran — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 17:02:44 +0000

Baroque wildlife art, 1600 to 1730.

This important artistic age, encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church and the aristocracy of the time, features such well-known great artists as Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Rubens, Velazquez, Poussin, and Vermeer. Paintings of this period often use lighting effects to increase the dramatic effect.

Wildlife art of this period includes a lion, and “goldfinch” by Carel Fabrituis.

Melchior de Hondecoeter was a specialist animal and bird artist in the baroque period with paintings including “revolt in the poultry coup”, “cocks fighting” and “palace of Amsterdam with exotic birds”.

The Rococo art period was a later (1720 to 1780) decadent sub-genre of the Baroque period, and includes such famous painters as Canaletto, Gainsborough and Goya. Wildlife art of the time includes “Dromedary study” by Jean Antoine Watteau, and “folly of beasts” by Goya.

Jean-Baptiste Oudry was a Rococo wildlife specialist, who often painted commissions for royalty.

Some of the earliest scientific wildlife illustration was also created at around this time, for example from artist William Lewin who published a book illustrating British birds, painted entirely by hand.

Wildlife art in the 18th to 19th C.

In 1743, Mark Catesby published his documentation of the flora and fauna of the explored areas of the New World, which helped encourage both business investment and interest in the natural history of the continent.

In response to the decadence of the Rococo period, neo-classicism arose in the late 18th Century (1750-1830 ). This genre is more ascetic, and contains much sensuality, but none of the spontaneity which characterizes the later Romantic period. This movement focused on the supremacy of natural order over man’s will, a concept which culminated in the romantic art depiction of disasters and madness.

Francois Le Vaillant (1769-1832) was a bird illustrator (and ornithologist) around this time.

Georges Cuvier, (1769-1832), painted accurate images of more than 5000 fish, relating to his studies of comparative organismal biology.

Edward Hicks is an example of an American wildlife painter of this period, who’s art was dominated by his religious context.

Sir Edwin Henry Landseer was also painting wildlife at this time, in a style strongly influenced by dramatic emotional judgments of the animals involved.

This focus towards nature led the painters of the Romantic era (1790 – 1880) to transform landscape painting, which had previously been a minor art form, into an art-form of major importance. The romantics rejected the ascetic ideals of Neo-Classicalism.

The practical use of photography began in around 1826, although it was a while before wildlife became a common subject for its use. The first color photograph was taken in 1861, but easy-to-use color plates only became available in 1907.

In 1853 Bisson and Mante created some of the first known wildlife photography.

In France, Gaspar-Felix Tournacho, “Nadar” (1820-1910) applied the same aesthetic principles used in painting, to photography, thus beginning the artistic discipline of fine art photography. Fine Art photography Prints were also reproduced in Limited Editions, making them more valuable.

Jaques-Laurent Agasse was one of the foremost painters of animals in Europe around the end of the 18th C and the beginning of the 19th. His animal art was unusually realistic for the time, and he painted some wild animals including giraffe and leopards.

Romantic wildlife art includes “zebra”, “cheetah, stag and two Indians”, at least two monkey paintings, a leopard and “portrait of a royal tiger” by George Stubbs who also did many paintings of horses.

One of the great wildlife sculptors of the Romantic period was Antoine-Louis Barye. Barye was also a wildlife painter, who demonstrated the typical dramatic concepts and lighting of the romantic movement.

Delacroix painted a tiger attacking a horse, which as is common with Romantic paintings, paints subject matter on the border between human (a domesticated horse) and the natural world (a wild tiger).

In America, the landscape painting movement of the Romantic era was known as the Hudson River School (1850s – c. 1880). These landscapes occasionally include wildlife, such as the deer in “Dogwood” and “valley of the Yosemite” by Albert Bierstadt, and more obviously in his “buffalo trail”, but the focus is on the landscape rather than the wildlife in it.

Wildlife artist Ivan Ivanovitch Shishkin demonstrates beautiful use of light in his landscape-oriented wildlife art.

Although Romantic painting focused on nature, it rarely portrayed wild animals, tending much more towards the borders between man and nature, such as domesticated animals and people in landscapes rather than the landscapes themselves. Romantic art seems in a way to be about nature, but usually only shows nature from a human perspective.

Audubon was perhaps the most famous painter of wild birds at around this time, with a distinctive American style, yet painting the birds realistically and in context, although in somewhat over-dramatic poses. As well as birds, he also painted the mammals of America, although these works of his are somewhat less well known. At around the same time In Europe, Rosa Bonheur was finding fame as a wildlife artist.

Amongst Realist art, “the raven” by Manet and “stags at rest” by Rosa Bonheur are genuine wildlife art. However in this artistic movement animals are much more usually depicted obviously as part of a human context.

The wildlife art of the impressionist movement includes “angler’s prize” by Theodore Clement Steele, and the artist Joseph Crawhall was a specialist wildlife artist strongly influenced by impressionism.

At this time, accurate scientific wildlife illustration was also being created. One name known for this kind of work in Europe is John Gould although his wife Elizabeth was the one who actually did most of the illustrations for his books on birds.

Post-impressionism (1886 – 1905, France) includes a water-bird in Rousseau’s “snake charmer”, and Rousseau’s paintings, which include wildlife, are sometimes considered Post-impressionist (as well as Fauvist, see below).

Fauvism (1904 – 1909, France) often considered the first “modern” art movement, re-thought use of color in art. The most famous fauvist is Matisse, who depicts birds and fish in is “polynesie la Mer” and birds in his “Renaissance”. Other wildlife art in this movement includes a tiger in “Surprised! Storm in the Forest” by Rousseau, a lion in his “sleeping Gypsy” and a jungle animal in his “exotic landscape”. Georges Braque depicts a bird in many of his artworks, including “L’Oiseaux Bleu et Gris”, and his “Astre et l’Oiseau”.

Ukiyo-e-printmaking (Japanese wood-block prints, originating from 17th C) was becoming known in the West, during the 19th C, and had a great influence on Western painters, particularly in France.

Wildlife art in this genre includes several untitled prints (owl, bird, eagle) by Ando Hiroshige, and “crane”, “cat and butterfly”, “wagtail and wisteria” by Hokusai Katsushika.

Wildlife art in the 20th Century, Contemporary art, postmodern art, etc.

Changing from the relatively stable views of a mechanical universe held in the 19th-century, the 20th-century shatters these views with such advances as Einstein’s Relativity and Freuds sub-conscious psychological influence.

The greater degree of contact with the rest of the world had a significant influence on Western arts, such as the influence of African and Japanese art on Pablo Picasso, for example.

American Wildlife artist Carl Runguis spans the end of the 19th and the beginnings of the 20th Century. His style evolved from tightly rendered scientific-influenced style, through impressionist influence, to a more painterly approach.

The golden age of illustration includes mythical wildlife “The firebird” by Edmund Dulac, and “tile design of Heron and Fish” by Walter Crane.

George Braque’s birds can be defined as Analytical Cubist (this genre was jointly developed by Braque and Picasso from 1908 to 1912), (as well as Fauvist). Fernand Leger also depicts birds in his “Les Oiseaux”.

There was also accurate scientific wildlife illustration being done at around this time, such as those done by America illustrator Louis Agassiz Fuertes who painted birds in America as well as other countries.

Expressionism (1905 – 1930, Germany). “Fox”, “monkey Frieze, “red deer”, and “tiger”, etc by Franz Marc qualify as wildlife art, although to contemporary viewers seem more about the style than the wildlife.

Postmodernism as an art genre, which has developed since the 1960′s, looks to the whole range of art history for its inspiration, as contrasted with Modernism which focuses on its own limited context. A different yet related view of these genres is that Modernism attempts to search for an idealized truth, where as post-modernism accepts the impossibility of such an ideal. This is reflected, for example, in the rise of abstract art, which is an art of the indefinable, after about a thousand years of art mostly depicting definable objects.

Magic realism (1960′s Germany) often included animals and birds, but usually as a minor feature among human elements, for example, swans and occasionally other animals in many paintings by Michael Parkes.

In 1963, Ray Harm is a significant bird artist.

Robert Rauschenberg’s “American eagle”, a Pop Art (mid 1950′s onwards) piece, uses the image of an eagle as a symbol rather than as something in its own right, and thus is not really wildlife art. The same applies to Any Warhol’s “Butterflys”.

Salvador Dali, the best known of Surrealist (1920′s France, onwards) artists, uses wild animals in some of his paintings, for example “Landscape with Butterflys”, but within the context of surrealism, depictions of wildlife become conceptually something other than what they might appear to be visually, so they might not really be wildlife at all. Other examples of wildlife in Surrealist art are Rene Magritte’s “La Promesse” and “L’entre ed Scene”.

Op art (1964 onwards) such as M. C. Escher’s “Sky and Water” shows ducks and fish, and “mosaic II” shows many animals and birds, but they are used as image design elements rather than the art being about the animals.

Roger Tory Peterson created fine wildlife art, which although being clear illustrations for use in his book which was the first real field guide to birds, are also aesthetically worthy bird paintings.

Young British Artists (1988 onwards). Damien Hirst uses a shark in a tank as one of his artworks. It is debatable whether this piece could be considered as wildlife art, because even though the shark is the focus of the piece, the piece is not really about the shark itself, but probably more about the shark’s effect on the people viewing it. It could be said to be more a use of wildlife in/as art, than a work of wildlife art.

Wildlife art continues to be popular today, with such artists as Robert Bateman being very highly regarded, although in his case somewhat controversial for his release of Limited-Edition prints which certain fine-art critics deplore.

Drawing Wildlife, Part 1

Miran — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 09:02:46 +0000

Some of the earliest of all known art (pre-historic cave and rock art) features wildlife. However, it might be more properly regarded as art about food, rather than art about wildlife as such.

Then for a lot of the rest of the history of art in the western world, art depicting wildlife was mostly absent, due to the fact that art during this period was mostly dominated by narrow perspectives on reality, such as religions. It is only more recently, as society, and the art it produces, frees itself from such narrow world-views, that wildlife art flourishes.

Wildlife is also a difficult subject for the artist, as it is difficult to find and even more difficult to find keeping still in a pose, long enough to even sketch, let alone paint. Recent advances such as photography have made this far easier, as well as being artforms in their own right. Wildlife art is thus now far easier to accomplish both accurately and aesthetically.

In art from outside the western world, wild animals and birds have been portrayed much more frequently throughout history.

Art about wild animals began as a depiction of vital food-sources, in pre-history. At the beginnings of history the western world seems to have shut itself off from the natural world for long periods, and this is reflected in the lack of wildlife art throughout most of art history. More recently, societies, and the art it produces, have become much more broad-minded. Wildlife has become something to marvel at as new areas of the world were explored for the first time, something to hunt for pleasure, to admire aesthetically, and to conserve. These interests are reflected in the wildlife art produced.

The History and development of Wildlife Art . . .

Wildlife art in Pre-history.

Animal and bird art appears in some of the earliest known examples of artistic creation, such as cave paintings and rock art

The earliest known cave paintings were made around 40,000 years ago, the Upper Paleolithic period. These art works might be more than decoration of living areas as they are often in caves which are difficult to access and don’t show any signs of human habitation. Wildlife was a significant part of the daily life of humans at this time, particularly in terms of hunting for food, and this is reflected in their art. Religious interpretation of the natural world is also assumed to be a significant factor in the depiction of animals and birds at this time.

Probably the most famous of all cave painting, in Lascaux (France), includes the image of a wild horse, which is one of the earliest known examples of wildlife art. Another example of wildlife cave painting is that of reindeer in the Spanish cave of Cueva de las Monedas, probably painted at around the time of the last ice-age. The oldest known cave paintings (maybe around 32,000 years old) are also found in France, at the Grotte Chauvet, and depict horses, rhinoceros, lions, buffalo, mammoth and humans, often hunting.

Wildlife painting is one of the commonest forms of cave art. Subjects are often of large wild animals, including bison, horses, aurochs, lions, bears and deer. The people of this time were probably relating to the natural world mostly in terms of their own survival, rather than separating themselves from it.

Cave paintings found in Africa often include animals. Cave paintings from America include animal species such as rabbit, puma, lynx, deer, wild goat and sheep, whale, turtle, tuna, sardine, octopus, eagle, and pelican, and is noted for its high quality and remarkable color. Rock paintings made by Australian Aborigines include so-called “X-ray” paintings which show the bones and organs of the animals they depict. Paintings on caves/rocks in Australia include local species of animals, fish and turtles.

Animal carvings were also made during the Upper Paleolithic period . . . which constitute the earliest examples of wildlife sculpture.

In Africa, bushman rock paintings, at around 8000 BC, clearly depict antelope and other animals.

The advent of the Bronze age in Europe, from the 3rd Millennium BC, led to a dedicated artisan class, due to the beginnings of specialization resulting from the surpluses available in these advancing societies. During the Iron age, mythical and natural animals were a common subject of artworks, often involving decoration of objects such as plates, knives and cups. Celtic influences affected the art and architecture of local Roman colonies, and outlasted them, surviving into the historic period.

Wildlife Art in the Ancient world (Classical art).

History is considered to begin at the time writing is invented. The earliest examples of ancient art originate from Egypt and Mesopotamia.

The great art traditions have their origins in the art of one of the six great ancient “classical” civilizations: Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, India, or China. Each of these great civilizations developed their own unique style of art.

Animals were commonly depicted in Chinese art, including some examples from the 4th Century which depict stylized mythological creatures and thus are rather a departure from pure wildlife art. Ming dynasty Chinese art features pure wildlife art, including ducks, swans, sparrows, tigers, and other animals and birds, with increasing realism and detail.

In the 7th Century, Elephants, monkeys and other animals were depicted in stone carvings in Ellora, India. These carvings were religious in nature, yet depicted real animals rather than more mythological creatures.

Ancient Egyptian art includes many animals, used within the symbolic and highly religious nature of Egyptian art at the time, yet showing considerable anatomical knowledge and attention to detail. Animal symbols are used within the famous Egyptian hieroglyphic symbolic language.

Early South American art often depicts representations of a divine jaguar.

The Minoans, the greatest civilization of the Bronze Age, created naturalistic designs including fish, squid and birds in their middle period. By the late Minoan period, wildlife was still the most characteristic subject of their art, with increasing variety of species.

The art of the nomadic people of the Mongolian steppes is primarily animal art, such as gold stags, and is typically small in size as befits their traveling lifestyle.

Aristotle (384-322 BC) suggested the concept of photography, but this wasn’t put into practice until 1826.

The Medieval period, AD 200 to 1430

This period includes early Christian and Byzantine art, as well as Romanesque and Gothic art (1200 to 1430). Most of the art which survives from this period is religious, rather than realistic, in nature. Animals in art at this time were used as symbols rather than representations of anything in the real world. So very little wildlife art as such could be said to exist at all during this period.

Renaissance wildlife art, 1300 to 1602.

This arts movement began from ideas which initially emerged in Florence. After centuries of religious domination of the arts, Renaissance artists began to move more towards ancient mystical themes and depicting the world around them, away from purely Christian subject matter. New techniques, such as oil painting and portable paintings, as well as new ways of looking such as use of perspective and realistic depiction of textures and lighting, led to great changes in artistic expression.

The two major schools of Renaissance art were the Italian school who were heavily influenced by the art of ancient Greece and Rome, and the northern Europeans . . . Flemish, Dutch and Germans, who were generally more realistic and less idealized in their work. The art of the Renaissance reflects the revolutions in ideas and science which occurred in this Reformation period.

The early Renaissance features artists such as Botticelli, and Donatello. Animals are still being used symbolically and in mythological context at this time, for example “Pegasus” by Jacopo de’Barbari.

The best-known artist of the high Renaissance is Leonardo-Da-Vinci. Although most of his artworks depict people and technology, he occasionally incorporates wildlife into his images, such as the swan in “Leda and the swan”, and the animals portrayed in his “lady with an ermine”, and “studies of cat movements and positions”.

Durer is regarded as the greatest artist of the Northern European Renaissance. Albrecht Durer was particularly well-known for his wildlife art, including pictures of hare, rhinoceros, bullfinch, little owl, squirrels, the wing of a blue roller, monkey, and blue crow.

Museum of Buddhist Art

Miran — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 18:37:54 +0000

The Museum of Buddhist Art in Bangkok is reputed to have the biggest collection of Buddha statues, sculptures and figurines based on Buddhist art work from kingdoms dating back to the 6th century AD. The exhibits reflect the cultural heritage of the various kingdoms in Thailand and neighboring kingdoms as well.

Visitors to the Museum of Buddhist Art are usually advised to start their tour in an annex to the main building that houses the Kuan Yin Palace and Museum which displays statues of Kuan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy. The courtyard outside this museum has six miniature wooden palaces housing Chinese deities.

The main theme of the Museum of Buddhist Art, however, is housed in eight rooms upstairs in the main building displaying Buddha statues, sculptures and figurines from the different kingdoms that had an impact on Thai art and culture.

The various schools of Buddhist art of each era blended with the previous and added its distinct touch. Detailed explanations are provided for the Buddha statues, their characteristics, different postures and subtle variations in the folds of the robes.

The museum is a useful source of knowledge for the scholar of Buddhist art and Buddha sculptures. The casual visitor, seeking an overview of an important aspect of Thai culture, would find this museum interesting as well.

Buddhist art from the various kingdoms displayed in the Museum of Buddhist Art

Dvaravati art (6th – 11th centuries AD)

Dvaravati art is based on the culture of the United Kingdom of Dvaravati in Nakhon Phahom, Central Thailand established by the Mon from Burma. The Buddhist art work of this period is based on the Southern India and Sri Lanka models.

Srivijaya art (7th – 14th centuries)

The Srivijaya kingdom covered Sumatra, Java, the Malay Peninsula and Southern Thailand, right up to Surat Thani and Nakhon Sri Thammarat. The art form from this era had a rich mix of Indian, Khmer, Sri Lanka, Java and Sumatra cultures.

Khmer art (11th – 19th centuries)

From 6th – 14th centuries, the Khmer Empire in Cambodia ruled over Laos and northeastern Thailand (Isarn). Khmer art was to have an enduring legacy on Buddhist art work for centuries to come.

Burmese art (11th – 19th centuries)

Burmese art evolved from the various ethnic groups in the ancient Burmese kingdom of Pagan. The Burmese, Mon, Arakan, Tai-yai kingdoms developed Buddhist art during their respective reigns. All these groups had an influence on Thai art.

Sukhothai art (13th – 15th centuries)

Art flourished in the Sukhothai Kingdom under the reign of King Ramkhamhaeng. Classic Sukhothai art soon emerged from the Khmer influence and established its unique style.

Ayuthaya art (1350 – 1767)

The exhibits on Ayuthaya art in the Museum of Buddhist Art represents the longest period in Thai art. Pre-Ayuthaya art was a combination of Khmer art of the Bayon period (the Bayon temples in Cambodia) and Dvaravati art, a mixture which was known as U Thong Art.

The establishment of Ayuthaya produced a blend of Khmer and Sukhothai styles which gradually evolved into its own distinctive character in the 16th century.

Lanna art (13th – 20th centuries)

The Lanna kingdom (Land of a Million Fields) was established by King Mengrai in northern Thailand in 1296. Pure Lanna art developed when the kingdom was independent. Lanna came under Burmese rule and later under Thai rule. The Buddha statues during these periods had their subtle differences.

Lan Xang art (14th – 18th centuries)

The Lan Xang kingdom (Land of a Million Elephants) was founded by King Fah Ngum in the 14th century after the fall of Sukhothai. The kingdom covered present day Laos and parts of northeastern Thailand. King Fah Ngum made Buddhism the state religion and so began an art form that also left its mark on Buddhist art.

Thonburi art (1767 – 1782)

Thonburi art had a brief period as the kingdom lasted for only 15 years.

Rattanakosin art (1782 – present)

What followed was Rattanakosin art of the modern Bangkok era. The Buddha statues and sculptures during the reign of the Chakri Kings developed a distinct identity of their own.

The other eight rooms in the Museum of Buddhist Art are not directly related to the central theme but are equally interesting. These cover artifacts from the pre-historic Ban Chiang culture, Yao paintings, stone sculptures.

An unusual set of exhibits in this museum is the room displaying statues of Jesus Christ and Mother Mary, a reflection of the religious tolerance in Buddhist society.

The Museum of Buddhist Art embodies not just the art and culture evolved for more than a millennium through the rise and fall of several kingdoms. It symbolizes the philosophy of moderation and tolerance, values that serve as a beacon of light in these troubled times.