Animals in Ancient Art: The Ancient Art Collection of Leo Mildenberg

(The animal art collection of Leo Mildenberg depicted in paintings, ceramics, reliefs and sculptures, elicits a response to a world in which modern technology has estranged us.)

The ancient art collection of Leo Mildenberg focuses on one subject - animals - portrayed in works of painting, sculpture, and relief. Rather than selecting monsters, hybrids or beasts being hunted by each other or by MAN, as was typical of the art of the past, he has chosen for his collection living animals, in action or in repose - inhabitants of a harmonious, gentle world. The menagerie reflects the collector's response to each individual piece, rather than following a rigid line, that shows a peaceful relationship among the animals themselves, as depicted in a variety of artistic types, cultures and periods.

The Leo Mildenberg collection of animal art is a reminder of the ancient past... As each piece parades before our eyes, we delve into the ancient world, which enables us to understand the depicting of animals in the art of early man....

The study of the development of art is a study of the history of human civilization that takes us from the early hunter cultures onwards. By studying specimens of art where are able to discern their mental world with the advance of material civilization. In this way we are able to learn of the outlook of various cultures, their beliefs and traditions.

Man, at the first onset, depended on animals for food clothing, energy, economic security, and as a means of transportation and combat. Thus animals are a recurrent theme in the art of ancient cultures where they are depicted as household pets or as bearers of mythological and symbolic meaning, like the virile bull or majestic lion. (1)

The ancient artist, in portraying the animals about him, is often emphasized: the coils of the snake in readiness to strike; the curve of the horses' back emphasizing the beauty of its form; the bounding of the stag breathless in the chase. The ancient artist stressed those traits considered important to their culture, like the proud bull's horns or the soaring winged eagle. (2)