Enchanting Mr. Anderson

Chris Appelhans' preliminary artworks for Fantastic Mr. Fox

Last August, in two of Animalarium's earliest posts, I expressed my excitement about the upcoming Where the Wild Things Are and Fantastic Mr. Fox. After seeing Spike Jonze's movie, I'll admit having mixed feelings about his adaptation of one of my most beloved children's books. Now, I am very happy to say that last night my exceedingly high expectations were more than matched by Anderson's production of Roald Dahl's classic children's story (and not just because I have a passion for foxes). I was absolutely delighted by just about everything in his movie, and so seems Mrs. Dahl. Watch her interview in this short promotional clip, where one can also have a glimpse of the amazing and painstaking work of the stop motion animation team. I had no idea that Wes Anderson had moved into Dahl's house to write the script, then photographed and reproduced every piece of furniture in it! Details like this make me appreciate my favorite director's aesthetically obsessive nature even more...

Monday Matticchio -Running daddy rabbit

Sunday Safari - What makes bunnies melancholy?

too much thinkin' by Kathleen Lolley

Bunnies, one of my favorite creatures in the soft and cute category,

are unfortunately inclined to suffer from depressive tendencies.

Just think of the famous Book of Bunny Suicides, or David Lynch's alienated Rabbits family.

To further prove the point, here you can meet some of the quiet and pensive creatures

I have encountered lately in my random journeys down the rabbit hole...

Penny farthing by Art and Ghosts

Slattern by Lou Beach

illustration by Toshiyuki Fukuda

illustration by Daniel Chang

Crochet bunny by Shauna Richardson

A Newspaper dress by Stasys Eidrigevicius, thanks to A Journey Round My Skull

Michael Sowa, illustration from Esterhazy: the Rabbit Prince

Octavia and rabbity friend by Cathy Cullis,

discovered thanks to Kickcan and Conkers

Pepel chair by Chiho Makino

Lapin by Marianne Ratier

Book cover by John Alcorn for the Italian edition of Watership Down, 1974

March Hare by Madeleine Floyd, thanks to Art Finds

Centenary birds

January 1910 (detail)

A couple of months ago I bought a book about Theo van Hoytema's beautiful 

lithographic Art Nouveau calendars and have been wanting to post about them ever since. 

Yesterday I finally got around to scanning some of the pictures, and then discovered that

 on the day before the beautifully curated blog Japonisme had worked on a similar idea

 (BTW, these intriguing web synchronicities are occurring very often these days... 

I wonder if other bloggers share the same experience). In fact, the remarkable and ambitious

 project of Japonisme is to upload the entire series of 17 calendars that van Hoytema produced

 between 1902 and 1917 (the 1918 calendar was published after his death). I encourage you

 to check out the first post with the complete 1902 edition, including the image below

 surrounded by its beautiful snowy decorative frame. I'll limit Animalarium's contribution

 to the subject to these gorgeous birds, one of van Hoytema's favorite subjects.

December 1902 (detail)

January 1905 (detail)

As an adolescent Theo van Hoytema loved animals, and was fascinated by illustrated books on

 entomology and natural history. Having noticed this, in 1888 his uncle A.P.M. van Oordt, a publisher

 and typographer, commissioned him to draw some illustrations for scientific publications on zoology.

 To accomplish the job, Theo went to study and sketch the animals at Leiden's Museum of Zoology

 and perfected his lithographic technique. This experience marked the beginning of his career

 as a serious artist, and in a few years' time, he became internationally known as one of

 the most original interpreters of the Nieuwe Kunst, the Dutch version of Art Nouveau.

July 1905 (detail)

March 1906 (detail)

June 1908

van Hoytema was also a celebrated children's books illustrator,

and you can see some of the lovely artwork from his 1895 book Uilen-Geluk here.

September 1908 (detail)

April 1910

February 1915

The book from which these images are taken is Theodoor van Hoytema – Calendari by Ezio Godoli. 

It was published in 1989 by Cantini Editore, a Florentine publisher who in the 1980s–90s produced

 some really nice and well documented illustrated books about art, illustration, fashion and ephemera.

 Unfortunately, as far as I know Cantini is no longer active, but some of these out of print books

 can be found at bargain prices in used bookstores around the city and on the web.

Bestiarium WIlkonia – The Little Cats

Here are some more of Józef Wilkon's lovely artworks. I don't have a lot of information

on most of these pictures, so I'll just add it as soon as I find it or it finds me.

If you enjoy these sweet felines, here are Wilkon's horses and big cats.

Satyrykon poster, 2005

Rosalind das Katzenkind

Czarny Książe Nocy, 2002

Kot czarny

Kot z wróblami, 1984

Kici kici miau, 2009