1. Natalie Howes and Beth Yates (B11)
Animals in Art
During our day at the National Gallery, we were looking at the portrayal of animals in art
throughout history.
We began by looking at ‘Exhibition of a Rhinoceros at Venice’ (probably 1751) by Pietro
Longhi:
We then began to look for animals in other pieces of art, and we noticed a general pattern.
Horses and dogs were the animals that most frequently appeared, but in very different roles.
Horses are generally portrayed either as working animals, or as beautiful creatures, while
dogs are portrayed as members of the family:
Questions
What is going on?
Does the rhinoceros look happy?
Where is its horn?
Cross-curricular links
 History: The changing role of zoos (from
exhibition to scientific research and
conservation).
 PSHE: Respecting animals.
 ICT: The role of the internet (people no
longer need to see a rhino to know what
one looks like).
 Literacy: Debates, writing and discussions
about the treatment of animals in zoos and
circuses. ‘Zoo’ by Anthony Browne.
 Geography: Where do rhinos come from?
Habitat study.
The horse as a working animal:
‘Colonel Tarleton’ (1782) by Sir
Joshua Reynolds. The horse as a working animal
and the dog as a pet: ‘The Market
Cart’ (1786) by Thomas
Gainsborough.

2. Natalie Howes and Beth Yates (B11)
We then sketched our own interpretations of ‘Equestrian Portrait of Charles I’ (about 1637-8)
by Anthony van Dyck, in which the horse is portrayed as a beautiful working animal:
The dog as a member of the
family: ‘Portrait of the Artist with
his Wife and Daughter’ (about
1748) by Thomas Gainsborough.
The horse as a beautiful creature:
‘Whistlejacket’ (about 1762) by George
Stubbs.

3. Natalie Howes and Beth Yates (B11)
Sketched by hand.
Sketched using an iPad.