The lion appears again in Ibn Bakhtīshū’s Manafi -I hayavan, an important thirteenth-century Persian manuscript. The work describes the nature of humans, animals, birds, reptiles, fish, and insects, and also offers advice on the medicinal uses of animals. According to the text, “the tooth of a lion tied on a child makes teething easy.”
In the sixteenth century when Dutch artist Jacob de Gheyn sketched his Studies of a Frog, Dragonfly, and Fantastic Bird, creatures such as the unicorn and the griffin were still believed to exist. Even Leonardo da Vinci included the occasional dragon in his sketches. Also on display is an anonymous watercolor of a lynx and recumbent unicorn from a fifteenth-century model book — an essential point of reference for medieval artists who wished to depict animals — which shows a similar pairing of reality and myth.
John James Audubon is best known for his meticulous depictions of animals, such as this preparatory study for Gray Rabbit: Old male, female, and young, which later appeared in his The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America (1845–1848). In addition to his published comments on rabbits’ tendency to make “inroads upon the kitchen-garden, feasting on the young green peas, lettuces, cabbages, &c., and doing a great deal of mischief,” Audubon also added a deeply personal note on the reverse of the drawing: “I drew this Hare during one of the days of deepest sorrow I have felt in my life, and my only solace was derived from my Labour. This morning our beloved Daughter[-in-law] Eliza died.”
A celebration of pure fancy, Debussy’s ballet for children, La boîte à joujoux (The Toy Box), follows a group of toys that come to life, escape from their box, fall in love, and go off on adventures. The first edition on view shows the charming illustrations of artist André Hellé, who also conceived of the story.
COMPANIONS
“Animals are such agreeable friends — they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.”
— from Scenes of Clerical Life, George Eliot
What do our relationships with animals reveal about ourselves? How can we imagine and appreciate the lives of others, whether they be animal or human? The strong bond between animals and humans is explored in these works, which focus on the beloved companions of writers and artists, as well as fictional and mythological characters.
St. Francis, the patron saint of animals, is represented in an illuminated Belgian psalter dating to 1270–1280. In the page on display, St. Francis preaches to an audience of birds that reportedly did not fly away until he was finished speaking. St. Francis was said to have hoped for “an edict prohibiting anyone from catching or imprisoning my sisters the larks.”
When poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s beloved cocker spaniel, Flush, was returned after being held for ransom, he “threw himself into my arms .. palpitating with joy .. in that dumb inarticulate ecstasy which is so affecting .. love without speech!” Browning related the story in a letter to Richard H. Horne, including a sketch of “Flushie,” noting that he is “my friend — my companion — & loves me better than he loves the sunshine without.”
Illustrations:
Jacob de Gheyn (1565–1629) Studies of a Frog, Dragonfly, and Fantastic BirdBlack; chalk, metalpoint, watercolor and gouache, pen and brown ink. Thaw Collection Photography, David A. Loggie
Claude Debussy (1862-1918) La boîte à joujoux: ballet pour enfants Illustrations by André Hellé Paris: Durand, ca. 1913
John James Audubon (1785-1851) Gray Rabbit: Old male, female, and young. Watercolor and graphite, with gouache on cream wove paper
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