Museum Newts

[apples]

While on holidays, my family stopped at the Louvre in Paris, and I was pleased to find a few salamanders in the great works of art.

Happy newt year!

 

[michael]

Hi Pin Pin,
What do you think they are? I must have Neurergus kaiseri on the brain. That's what they kind of look like to me.

 

[Otterwoman]

I'm sure it's a Fire Salamander. They are the only ones I've ever heard of specifically mentioned in European folklore. Pin-Pin, do you remember the name of the painter/painting?

 

[Kaysie]

That's a species mixing disaster waiting to happen. I mean, chickens, lions, salamanders, dogs? And a cow? Crazy!

Good find, Pin-pin.

 

[Otterwoman]

Maybe that's the name of the painting! ("Species Mixing Disaster")

 

[oceanblue]

The artist is Paul de Vos 1590-1678. His paintings are all species mixing disasters. In some of them such as one I saw in Glasgow quite a percentage of the animals (Stag and game birds) were already dead!

 

[Otterwoman]

You don't know how hard that made me laugh, oceanblue!

 

[oceanblue]

Glad to introduce a light note to an off topic thread! His paintings are often hunting scenes and mayhem in the larder with recently killed "still life". I suppose there is a good excuse and divine intervention to prevent slaughter here. The clue is two of everything. This is Noah's ark! His other paintings are often hunting, mayhem around dead game and and cats and dogs fighting i.e. species mixing disasters! He also includes a salamander in another painting on the same theme with single animals.
www.isidore-of-seville.com/noah-ark/19.html

 

[Otterwoman]

Thanks for that. I was curious and I was going to read about him tomorrow. Is he trying to be funny? What's he trying to say, do you know?

 

[oceanblue]

Quite a lot of his work seems to be what his patrons wanted. The one in the link above in a page on Noah's ark showing animals singly is actually called Paradise, I guess meaning in paradise these will not fight. I think the web site meant to show the picture at the start of this thread. He is acutely aware of species mixing disasters and is saying this is not the real world but see how realistically I can paint. There are plenty of his pictures on-line including still lives which are mainly dead with cat and dog fights but I cannot find much in the interpretation or symbolism of the individual paintings.

 

[Otterwoman]

He's not even mentioned in my Sister Wendy book or in my favorite intro-to-art-history book. I'm going to do a little online searching because now my curiosity is piqued. Not one of the giants of art history, I guess, though he can paint a mean salamander!

 

[apples]

Hi otterwoman, yup, oceanblue has got it right. The markings are definitely fire salamanders. I was rather excited, as most artists can get a lizard or two right, but rarely a newt.

Let's see what I "find" in Florence next week. I have to admit that herping in art is not as satisfying as herping in the field.