Long Live the King

George Giusti, Holiday cover, April 1958, thanks to Inspirational Imagery

Dedicated to Michelle, born 25 years ago under the sign of Leo.

 William Pène du Bois, cover of Fierce John

Piet Marée, Barendje's Wonderlijke Reis, 1938, thanks to Arthur van Kruining

Celestino Piatti, from Graphis Annual 60/61, thanks to Sandi Vincent

Bernard Simpson, 1959

Bill Leeson, 1965, via the London Transport Museum 

Chiyoko Nakatani, The Lion and the Bird’s Nest, 1972, thanks to tiny tin

John Burningham's ABC, 1970

Sarah Young

Lesley Barnes

 

 Antonio Frasconi, See and Say, 1955, thanks to my vintage book collection in blog form

Marcello Minale, Creatures Great and Small, 1965

Takeshi Kitano, thanks to Ana Montiel

Mark Hearld

Joan Kiddell-Monroe, India Folk Tales, thanks to 50 Watts

click here to see the previous pride of lions on Animalarium

Franco Matticchio

Eskimo Dreams

 Maria Helena Vieira da Silva, Kô & Kô, 1933, thanks to Arthur van Kruining

Living under the Tuscan sun is usually a pleasant experience, but this has been

such a terribly hot and dry Summer that we are all dreaming of rain and cool weather.

I am leaving next week for a short trip to colder climates; in the meanwhile

I sit in front of the fan listening to Kate Bush's 50 words for snow

and travel with my mind to icy lands

Ingrid Vang Nyman, Människornas land, 1967, thanks to P-E Fronning

Leo & Diane Dillon, The Girl Who Dreamed Only Geese 

Élisabeth Ivanovsky

Paul Emile Victor, Apoutsiak, le petit flocon de neige, 1948, thanks to maptitefabrique

Dahlov Ipcar, The cat came back, 1971, via Curio Books

Becca Stadtlander 

 Leonard Weisgard, Look at the Moon, 1969, 

thanks to my vintage book collection in blog form

Stephen Mackey, Miki

Wilhelm Petersen, Mecki bei den Eskimos, thanks to micky the pixel

Giuliano Ferri

Maurizio Quarello

Josef Palecek, Pohadky Z Iglu, 1987

Gwen Keraval

 Elizabeth Cadie

 Diana Sudyka

Associatively, last winter we saw an amazing movie called Atarnarjuat, the fast runner

which I highly recommend to anyone in an Arctic mood...

Memento Mori

Golly Bard, I heard a fly buzz

It's hard to believe, but only ten days after we buried Emma, the dog of Seba's mother

 died from a heart attack. Alpha was a 12 year old French bull terrier, whose health
 quickly deteriorated in the past few days largely due to the relentless heat 

of this crazy Tuscan summer (and the inherent problems of this breed).

Emma & Alpha, April 2012

The sudden disappearance of these two beloved faithful companions 
(in addition to the death of my grandmother a month ago), has brought out 
not just sadness and grief, but also an heightened sense of the fragility

and impermanence of life. Hence, I was compelled to explore the subject

and assemble this collection of contemporary vanitas for Animalarium.

While I am usually not drawn to macabre imagery, these artwork's 

unflinching look at death strongly resonates with me right now. 

Also, keeping myself busy helps me to cope with the loss!

Madeline von Foerster

Walton Ford, Baba B.G.

Lindsey Carr, Spoils of war

Kathleen Lolley, Can't let go

Tamar Mogendorff

Olaf Hajek, Dead bird

Francisco Toledo, Muerte grillo

Jan Fabre, Skull

ericailcane

Kate MacDowell

Roa

Marc Burkhardt, Resurrection

In the end, this to me is a reminder to live life as fully as possible,

appreciating the beauty and mystery of the here and now...

Portrait of a Dog

 Joséphine Bowes, Portrait of a dog, 19th century

Naturally, for me Emma was the most wonderful dog in the world,

but every dog has its own special beauty and character.

A post dedicated to all our loving canine friends.

Adolf Dietrich, Balbo lying on the lawn, 1955

Lucian Freud, Eli

David Hockney

Jamie Wyeth, Study of Kleberg, 1984

 Anna Pugh

Rose Sanderson

Lauren Nassef, Serious napping

David Hughes, Dexter, thanks to children's illustration

Stephen Huneck, Sally

Shino Arihara, Kuro

Leia Bell, Frankie and Clementine

Terry Runyan

Maira Kalman, Well Susan

Ping Zhu

Mark Ulriksen, Ted in Heaven