Animals, Culture, and

Society

Animals, Culture, and

Society
The Enlightenment has its roots in 17th century
Europe, and is characterized by emphasizing the
importance of reason and science over
superstition and religion
Key thinkers were Locke, Rousseau, Newton, and
Voltaire
The movement was centered in France but
influenced the thinking behind the American
Revolution

Animals, Culture, and Society

Beginning in the 1600s and 1700s,
animals were increasingly seen as
philosophical and ethical subjects
This attitude was fueled by these trends:

Widespread availability of print media

Increasing urbanization
The popularity of vivisection
The commodification of animals for food and labor

Animals, Culture, and

Society
In science, debate existed around whether
animals were moral and rational, like humans
Rene Descartes argued that animals were not
rational, moral, or even conscious.
He argued that animals were nothing more than
machines

Montaigne, on the other hand, claimed that

animals were more moral and rational than
humans

Animals, Culture, and Society:

Vivisection was thought to be acceptable.

Live animal dissection occurred in view of
the public (in order for a live audience to
provide witness and verification).
According to Descartes, animals could not
feel pain
Animals responses were considered mechanical
reactions to stimuli

Animals, Culture, and Society

Video:

"Three Minute Philosophy: Rene Descar

tes

Animals, Culture, and

Society
During this time period, paintings of dead
animals in market and kitchen scenes were
still being produced
Dead animal corpses were considered
objects of beauty yet animals were
considered to be far inferior to humans
In other words, nature was simultaneously
appreciated and exploited

Animals, Culture, and Society

During the Protestant Reformation in Europe,
the best source of income for painters the
Church -- was eliminated
In the Netherlands, however, artists were able
to thrive
Many Dutch artists depicted scenes of nature
and daily life, instead of religious portraits

Video:
"The Dutch Golden Age"

Animals, Culture, and Society

During this time period in the 16th century, the middle
class continued to expand.
With this middle class expansion came an increase in
economic and cultural expansion (along with a demand
for game piece paintings).
The rising middle class was not allowed to hunt prized
game, so the next best thing was to own a game piece
A game piece was proof of the rising social status of
the owner

Animals, Culture, and

Society
Video:
"The Age of Reason"

Animals, Culture, and

Society
Dead animal trophy art in the 17th century continued
the animal paintings that began in the 1500s
Large panoramic hunting scenes were painted with the
detail of a still life
The early game pieces from the first half of the 17th
century were painted by Peter Paul Rubens and Frans
Snyders
Snyders often used human positions to pose dead
animals, which made them resemble human warriors

Animals, Culture, and Society

Image: http://elogedelart.canalblog.com

Animals, Culture, and Society

The game piece was a display of animals that only the
nobility were allowed to hunt (stags, boars, swans, etc).
These prized animals displaced the common domestic
animals in the kitchen and market scenes
Notably, Snyders game pieces were completely devoid
of blood
The tendency to eliminate blood and gore from the
dead animal paintings may have been an early sign of
an objection to killing animals

Animals, Culture, and

Society
After 1650, game piece art became less culinary and more
trophy-like
The depiction of extravagant abundance in market and kitchen
scenes was replaced by fewer dead animals in game settings
Birds were among the most popular animals depicted in dead
animal paintings
Many species of birds were hunted at the time
When the birds were caught and killed, their heads were placed
between a willow branch (to arrange them in a neat row)

Animals, Culture, and

Society
Rembrandt painted some of the earliest
examples of hunting and animal portraiture
Most hunting portraits were extravagant
celebrations of the aristocracy
Like the game piece, hunting portraits were
attempts to make statements about social
status

Animals, Culture, and Society

Image: http://www.rembrandtpainting.net

Animals, Culture, and

Society
In the 17th century, many artists painted
ordinary live animals like cows, horses, deer,
dogs, and birds
For the first time since antiquity, animals
were represented on their own account (not
in a human context)
For instance, they were often portrayed in
fields and meadows

Animals, Culture, and

Society
In the 18th century, prize cattle were painted
as a way to emphasize the owners social
status (i.e., the bigger, the better)
The purpose of livestock breeding was to
produce animals for accelerated meat
production
These animals grew very large to provide
more meat

Animals, Culture, and

Society
During the Enlightenment period, animal portraiture
was often used to convey political messages
These portraits were used as symbols in displays of
struggle and violence
Animal struggleconsisting of predator versus prey
was a theme commonly portrayed to signify a political
message
Politically, animal representations were used to
promote resistance to outside aggression and tyranny

Animals, Culture, and

Society
Images commissioned by and for the
wealthy included:

Dead and live animal portraiture

Hunting trophies
Representations of biological perfection
Political symbolism

Animals, Culture, and

Society
For the common people of England and France, the
18th century brought plague and famine
As a result of privation and hardship, rituals and
ceremonies were central to these peoples life
People of the 17th and 18th centuries made heavy use
of animals and animal symbolism in these rituals and
ceremonies
Some of these ritualized celebrations included animal
baitings

Animals, Culture, and Society

Video:
"Children in the Eighteenth Ce
ntury"

Animals, Culture, and Society

Roosters were whipped on Shrove
Tuesday
Dogs were whipped on St. Lukes Day
Cats were tortured in general
Cats in particular were commonly associated
with women and symbolic of witchcraft

Animals, Society, and

Culture

Image: http://www.all-art.org/history

Animals, Culture, and Society

Animal imagery was central to dramatic street
theater
In the case of punishment for sexual offences,
shaming ceremonies used animal imagery
For instance, a youthstressed up like a stagwould
collapse and be slaughtered at an offenders door
This shaming ritual served as a public announcement
of disgrace

Animals, Culture, and

Society
Forcing people to ride wooden
horses was a form of public
punishment

Animals, Culture, and

Society
In London during the 1600s, animals were exhibited at fairs, festivals, and
sideshows
Deformed domestic animals were often shown alongside giants, dwarves, or
hair-covered children
Talented animalssuch as dancing bears, performing birds, and trained
horseswere very popular attractions
--Hares could be trained to play drums
--Fleas pulled chariots
--Flies dueled with each other using pieces of straw
Animals engaged in human activities were also found in written and visual art

Animals, Culture, and Society

Video:
"Genuine Flea Circus"

Animals, Culture, and

Society
In the 18th century, special combat
arenas were established in large towns
At these arenas, fights between mastiffs
and bearsas well as bulls and lions
became institutionalized entertainment
In Paris, people pitted dogs against
wolves and polar bears against mastiffs

Animals, Culture, and

Society
As world exploration increased, more exotic animals were imported
into Europe
These animals were (1) owned privately, (2) put in menageries, and
(3) used in public displays
A large number of exotic animals were kept as pets for the wealthy
For aristocrats in the 17th century, parrots were associated with
must-have luxury items
In general, pet-keeping was quite common in the 18 th century
(including pet bats, pet toads, and pet hedge-hogs)

Animals, Culture, and

Society

Image:

Animals, Culture, and

Society
In the late 1700s, almost everyone had a dog
The authorities tried to limit the number of dogs
owned by the poor through a dog tax
Dogs were mass slaughtered to halt the spread of
rabies
Roaming animals were considered unsanitary
because they were not part of a fixed social
relationship

Animals, Culture, and

Society
At the beginning of the Enlightenment,
animal shows were considered opportunities
for education in natural history
Exhibits were meant to teach people about
animals natural habitats
Be that as it may, animals were kept in
cages with decorated walls that were
nothing like their natural habitats

Animals, Culture, and

Society
In the 17th century, menageries and curiosity
cabinets were finally open to the public
Royalty and the aristocracy wanted to
appear favorable to the general public
For the royal menagerie in the Tower of
London, people traveled far and wide to see
lions, tigers, bears, eagles, and monkeys

Animals, Culture, and

Society
Versailles had one of the best known and welldocumented menageries of all time
It was intended for peaceful animals and exotic
gifts given to the king
The menagerie had a unique octagonal
architecture
This design allowed the monarch to see the whole
menagerie from his central salon

Animals, Culture, and

Society
Video:
"Menagerie du Jardin des Plantes"

Animals, Culture, and

Society
There was a close connection
between art and the display of
nature at Versailles
Louis XIV had prominent artists paint
each animal
The animals were used to entertain
guests during royal receptions and
pageants

Animals, Culture, and

Society
Animals did not thrive in menagerie life
They died from the cold and developed
confinement deformities (i.e., beavers could not
swim)
Eventually, the Versailles animals were moved to
the Jardin des Plantes and dedicated to science
The garden was turned into a natural history
museum

Animals, Culture, and

Society
The animals at Jardin des Plantes were sometimes
dissected by the Academie royale des sciences
This careful study of animal anatomy greatly enhanced
scientific illustration
Rembrandts drawings include numerous studies of
animals (both domestics and exotics)
In Holland during the 17th century, the invention of the
microscope changed the way people saw the natural
world

Animals, Culture, and

Society
In the 17th century, Christians began to agree
with Montaignes argument that God cared as
much for the welfare of animals as for man
According to this philosophy, even worms,
beetles, snails, and spiders should be treated
more humanely
Cruel farm practices generated laws against
bringing unnecessary harm to animals

Animals, Culture, and

Society

Image: http://www.newstatesman.com

Animals, Culture, and

Society
As this sentimentality toward animals grew, animal
behavior became increasingly anthropomorphized
Animals were used as representations of the human
condition
Rarely was the natural world addressed for what it was
It was not uncommon for poets to speak directly to
animals in their poetry
(i.e., William BlakeAm not I, A fly like thee?)

Animals, Culture, and

Society
A good example is Robert Burns poem about
a mouse he accidentally killed with a plough
Burns identified with the mouse
He compared her trouble to his own
hardships
Burns engaged with this particular mouse

Animals, Culture, and

Society
Writings about cruelty to wild birds had an
influence on middle-class attitudes toward
animals
In 18th century France, chained and caged
animals symbolized human slavery, prison,
and oppression
It was linked to concern for the exploitation
of other humans

Animals, Culture, and

Society
Video:
"Animal Court Trials"

Animals, Culture, and

Society
Looking at cruelty was one of the best
means of showing the horror of animal
suffering
Artist William Hughes portrayed The Four
Stages of Cruelty
The intention of this piece was to reach the
largest possible audience at the cheapest
possible price

Animals, Culture, and

Society

Image:

Animals, Culture, and

Society
Nevertheless, animal exploitation often occurred in urban areas
During the 17th and 18th centuries, animals were increasingly
commodified for food and labor
England was a hell for horses
Horses underwent miserable working conditions, as did cows,
chickens, pigs, and sheep
According to some critics, these animals labored as part of the
working class
In other words, these animals worked under the same capitalist
system as humans