Animals on the Easel

In the mid 1800s, a young German man of an artistic inclination became a regular at the newly opened Berlin Zoo.  During his visits, he befriended Martin Lichtenstein, the Zoo's first director, who then began to offer the youngster access to some of the behind-the-scenes areas of the zoo, getting even closer to the wild animals.  Those encounters sparked a lifelong passion in young Paul Friedrich Meyerheim.  Though he would go on to paint the usual landscapes and portraits that one would expect of an artist of the age, he also began to specialize in animals.

Meyerheim would paint many animal masterpieces.  Some depict animals at the zoo, or in the traveling menageries which were still common in his day.  Others would recreate scenes of the animals in the wild, or in other settings, such as imagined combat between lions and an elephant in a Roman amphitheater.  All demonstrate his familiarity with animals - their anatomy, their behavior, their mannerisms - which can only can come with close association and careful study.  Some of his work even went on to adorn walls within the Berlin Zoo itself. 

These days, every visitor who comes into our facilities has a camera on their phone, thousands of images are taken and shared daily (along with videos), and painters are seldom to be found stationed outside of exhibits (and I can imagine the chaos that could cause in a bustling spring or summer weekend as people push up against the railings, angling for a better view, a closer picture.  It would actually be a nice touch, I feel, if zoos and aquariums would do more to encourage local artists - special hours, closer access, reserved stations (similar to the wheelchair stations I saw at one recent aquarium).  Zoos are about conservation and education - but they can also provide inspiration for paintings, drawings, sculptures, poetry, even music.

I'd be delighted if the walls of some of our animal buildings at my zoo were covered not only with educational plaques, but of artwork inspired by the animals around us.