On the occasion of Menagerie: Animals on View, we're taking a closer look at several of the thematic groupings in the exhibition. This week: In the Landscape.
From languid cows relaxing in the sun to sheep huddled in a meadow, artistic portrayals of livestock in the countryside are prevalent. Pastoral themes were traditionally intended to convey the subservience of humans and animals to nature, which was conceived as a direct manifestation of God. However, as industrialization progressed, the significance of such images shifted in response to man’s increased alienation. The landscape began to serve as a politicized ground in which conflicts based in cultural memory, identity, and nationalism play out, and the animals within these scenes took on an increasingly symbolic role.
Milton Avery (American, 1885–1965). Bucolic Landscape, 1945. Oil on canvas, 32 x 48 inches (81.3 x 121.9 cm). Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; Room of Contemporary Art Fund, 1946 (RCA1946:2). © Estate of Milton Avery / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
George Wesley Bellows (American, 1882–1925). Farm Yard, ca. 1919. Crayon on paper, 9 5/8 x 12 inches (24.5 x 30.5 cm). Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; Gift of ACG Trust, 1970 (1970:2.16).
Ewald Mataré (German, 1887–1965). Four Red Cows, ca. 1925. Color woodcut, 12 1/4 x 16 inches (31.1 x 40.6 cm). Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; Gift of A. Conger Goodyear, by exchange, 1949 (P1949:27). © Estate of Ewald Mataré / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Thomas Moran (American, 1837–1926). Bringing Home the Cattle—Coast of Florida, 1879. Oil on canvas, 32 1/2 x 49 1/2 inches (82.6 x 125.7 cm). Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; Sherman S. Jewett Fund, 1881 (1881:2).
Paulus Potter (Dutch, 1625–1654). Cattle, ca. 1650. Etching, 5 x 6 1/4 inches (12.7 x 15.9 cm). Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; Gifts of Willis O. Chapin, 1891 (1891:4.169).
Paulus Potter (Dutch, 1625–1654). Cattle, ca. 1650. Etching, 4 x 5 1/2 inches (10.2 x 14 cm). Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; Gifts of Willis O. Chapin, 1891 (1891:4.170).
Paulus Potter (Dutch, 1625–1654). Cattle, ca. 1650. Etching, 4 3/4 x 6 1/4 inches (12.1 x 15.9 cm). Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; Gifts of Willis O. Chapin, 1891 (1891:4.171).
Paulus Potter (Dutch, 1625–1654). Cattle, ca. 1650. Etching, 4 3/4 x 6 1/4 inches (12.1 x 15.9 cm). Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; Gifts of Willis O. Chapin, 1891 (1891:4.172).
Winslow Homer (American, 1836–1910). Girl and Sheep, 1879. Pencil and wash on paper, 15 3/8 x 24 1/8 x 1 3/4 inches (39.1 x 61.3 x 4.5 cm) framed. Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; Bequest of Norman E. Boasberg, 1962 (1962:5.3).
