1594
gouache
vellum
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Plate 14: A Civet, a Lynx, and a Hyena Eating a Dog is a 1594 gouache by Joris Hoefnagel, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This circle of animals looks like a strange zoo. A striped cat stands on grass, a small fox-like creature hunts a dead rabbit, and a weird, long-necked beast with a mane curls around a branch above. The colors are earthy browns and greens, with a touch of gold around the edges. The text at the top and bottom is in Latin, but the animals are labeled in the image itself—numbers point to each one. The artist clearly wanted to show real animals, but some look almost mythical. Next, check out Hoefnagel, Joris to see how he mixed science and art.
Joris Hoefnagel or Georg Hoefnagel (1542 – 24 July 1601) was a Flemish painter, printmaker, miniaturist, draftsman and merchant.
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