Animals
Animals in Art: Creatures Hiding in Famous Paintings
A dog at a lady’s feet, a fly on a tabletop, a bird at the edge of a sky — animals slip into paintings as companions, symbols, and sly jokes. This gallery gathers the creatures hiding across the collection, from loyal lapdogs to ominous ravens. Click any detail to meet the animal and the painting it lives in.
24 details · cropped from original museum images
Bactrian camel
William Hogarth · Two Dromedaries (Aubry de La Mottraye's "Travels throughout Europe, Asia and into Part of Africa...," London, 1724, plate 314)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
grey horse
James Seymour · Portrait of a Horseman
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
galloping horse and riders
Frederic Remington (American, 1861–1909) · Ceremony of the Fastest Horse
Art Institute of Chicago
rearing white horse
Rosa Bonheur · The Horse Fair
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
resting duck
Berthe Morisot · The Duck
Art Institute of Chicago
Galloping white horses
Benjamin Green · Phaeton
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
standing pig
Alexandre Gabriel Decamps (French, 1803–1860) · Study of Pigs
Art Institute of Chicago
lying tabby cat
Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen · Summer: Cat on a Balustrade
Art Institute of Chicago
rearing horse
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes · A Woman and a Horse, Let Someone Else Master Them, plate ten from Los Proverbios
Art Institute of Chicago
Revived birds (partridges)
Garofalo (Benvenuto Tisi da Garofalo) · Saint Nicholas of Tolentino Reviving the Birds
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
central war elephant
After Cornelis Cort (Netherlandish, 1533–1578) · The Battle of Zama
Art Institute of Chicago
Powerful leaping carp
Kano Yasunobu · Fish and Lotus
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
full portrait of a monkey
India · A Monumental Portrait of a Monkey
Art Institute of Chicago
dying horse sitting up
Frederic Remington (American, 1861–1909) · How the Horses Died for Their Country at Santiago
Art Institute of Chicago
full body of the tiger in repose
Antoine-Louis Barye · Tiger in Repose
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
blue bird
Utagawa Hiroshige · Weeping Cherry and Bluebird
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
central sheep
Constant Troyon (French, 1810–1865) · Unfinished Study of Sheep
Art Institute of Chicago
Galloping horse and rider
Anders Zorn · Storm
Art Institute of Chicago
white hunting dog (setter)
Thomas Doughty · Landscape with Dog
Art Institute of Chicago
piebald horse
Théodore Géricault · Horsewoman
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
central peacock
Melchior d' Hondecoeter · Peacocks
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
waterfowl looking up
Attributed to Zhu Da 朱耷 (Chinese, 1626-c.1705) · Lotus and Waterfowl
Art Institute of Chicago
hanging hare
Jan Fyt · A Hare, Partridges, and Fruit
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
herd of cows by the water
Sanford Robinson Gifford (American, 1823–1880) · Cows in a Pond at Sunset
Art Institute of Chicago
Go deeper
Closer looks and hidden meanings within animals.
Animal Symbolism in Art: Hidden Meanings
Why is there a little dog at the couple’s feet, an owl in the shadows, a lamb in the foreground? In older painting, almost every animal carries a meaning. This gallery zooms into the symbolic creatures of the collection. Click any detail to meet the animal and the work it lives in.
24 details
Dogs in Famous Paintings
From pampered lapdogs in royal portraits to working hounds in the field, dogs have padded through art history for centuries — loyal, watchful, and endlessly painted. The best dogs in the collection, up close.
20 details
Cats in Art
Curled by the fire, perched on a lap, or watching from the shadows — cats have slipped into paintings for centuries with their usual quiet confidence. The collection’s best cats, up close.
20 details
Birds in Art
A dove of peace, a goldfinch on a string, a parrot of the exotic — birds bring color, movement, and meaning to a painting. The loveliest birds in the collection, up close.
20 details