Happy #NationalAardvarkWeek! Aardvarks (Orycteropus afer) are widely distributed across Sub-Sahara Africa, and as such can be found in African visual culture from ancient rock art to contemporary works. The Bambara (also called Bamana) peoples of West Africa, especially in Mali, have a rich tradition of aardvark representation, which manifests in…
This gallery contains 12 photos.
For #LoveHornbillsDay, here are examples of kenyalang figures from the Iban people of Borneo. These carved and painted wooden figures are stylized representations of the kenyalang bird, aka the Rhinoceros Hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros). It is the official state bird of Sarawak and national bird of Malaysia. GALLERY The largest sculptures…
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November 3rd is World Jellyfish Day! To celebrate, here is a dozen of Ernst Haeckel’s “medusae” plates from Kunstformen der Natur (1899-1904) as well as the cover art that features a bonus one.
Happy birthday to iconic Dutch graphic artist M. C. Escher, born 125 years ago today! Animal forms inspired many of his works, including reptiles. Here is a favorite example, Reptiles from 1943:
June 16th is World Sea Turtle Day! Check out Andy Warhol’s 1985 sea turtle art and find out what movie it was made for.
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June 1st is World Reef Day! Here are some vintage travel posters with artwork featuring underwater scenes of the Great Barrier Reef.
May 23rd is World Turtle Day! This tortoise painting was an interesting find in the British portraiture rooms at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Even the signage acknowledges how unusual it is!
May 20th is World Bee Day! This is the perfect excuse to share this dress…
It was on this day (21 February) in 1918 that the last known Carolina Parakeet, Incas, died at the Cincinnati Zoo – tragically, in the same cage the last known Passenger Pigeon, Martha, had died only four years earlier. (Even worse, unlike Martha, whose body was sent to the Smithsonian…
Haori with Penguins and Icebreaker ShipsJapan, mid-Shōwa period, 1957-58silk plain weave, stencil-printed warp and weft[photos by author] Penguins (Spheniscidae) are found almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere, with only the Galápagos penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus) skirting the other side of the equator. They definitely aren’t native to anywhere near Japan! I saw…
