Animals have been among humans since the dawn of time, creating bonds and friendships, food and clothing; they have a huge impact on our evolution as a species. Throughout our history, humans have observed them very closely, evaluating each creature as it walked alongside us. Ancient civilizations began using their traits and characteristics to justify their behavior and analyze the world around us. We have used animals to represent the natural world, symbolizing important attributes, becoming incredibly important in the evolution of humans. They began to create meaningful symbolism to help illustrate concepts to the illiterate and process information through a medium that all could understand. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay In this essay, I will discuss how animals have been depicted in art, illustration, and symbolism and I I will compare them to the way they are represented today. Creationism played an important role in society because it included symbolism that would have been understood by those who were illiterate: in medieval times, a large majority of people were illiterate, which meant they relied on a visual aid to interpret the text. Science had not yet evolved, which meant that the public depended on creationism to explain the complex world around them, because that was all they knew. The illustration was used to teach creationism to people of that era so that everyone could apply it to their lives. Animals played an important role in medieval art, becoming renowned for their symbolism: most of the time, animals were used to symbolize many different things depending on origin, but most animals were used symbolically to explain the inexplicable, which had a great influence on the creation of myths and legends like mythical creatures. These creatures were based on people's interpretation of animals, especially since many species were not native. Animals were not properly documented during this time, as people relied on an explorer to document discoveries of new species. Artists therefore had to interpret the illustration based on the explorer's words, which could often be misleading. In Christianity, animals were accustomed to painting a picture and setting a scene, using hidden symbolic meanings that we have now forgotten in our modern society: "A seed buried in the ground grows steadily upward according to its nature to become a large tree whose flowering branches are a shelter for nesting birds in spring and summer providing welcome shade for animals and plants; in autumn the fruits may well serve as food for many creatures, while the leaves fallen in early winter enrich the soil with humus allowing other seeds to germinate in spring. returns and the sap rises” – This passage shows the detail with which animals are used to describe an environment with hidden symbolism. Birds in Christianity symbolize the presence of God. Each bird has a different meaning but if we talk about all birds, the meaning remains that of the presence of God. “Life with doves pecking grapes are closely related images”: this is again another symbolic mention of birds. An animal would symbolize a representation of the specific characteristics of an animal: a crow is both a positive and negative animal. Ravens symbolize mischievous and manipulative behavior, intelligence, a superior perspective and are adaptive. But people did not know that these described characteristics were accurate representations of their nature since they had never seen one before. “How are birds special among animals? Their arms are wings, which allow them to rise above the ground and fly quickly through the air. Birds also have very quick and precise eyesight. An eagle or hawk circling high in the air observes small objects on the ground far below. How quick must a little bird's eyesight be to fly safely through the woods, in and out of the branches! And we must not forget the sweet songs of some and the bright colors of others, which are their means of sharing with us the delights of their happy life. concepts such as the idea that less conscious species correspond to our emotions and affection, making nature observation a part of religious practices. The depictions of the animals were not accurate because travel was not easy at the time, which meant fewer people could collect records about the animals. . People thought exotic animals were imaginary because they had not seen them, and so the realism of the illustrations produced was not accurate because it was based on description rather than visual documentation, much like Chinese whispers. The color palette was limited to the illustrators because many colors had not yet been created, so they used nature to create the pigments, which also worked for documentation. The mythical beasts as well as the renowned symbolism that each species possessed went hand in hand with each other. tell a story: As early as the Neolithic period, cave paintings were used to tell stories. “Most (but not all) experts believe they were painted without any thought of beauty, their purpose being to provide magical aid to the hunter. Their realism is all the more remarkable as the artist had practically none of the means available subsequently. Yellow, red and black were his only colors, derived from the minerals of the earth, and as a paintbrush he used his fingers or, at best, a piece of frayed bark. “Many medieval mythologies mention wild children. One book that was influenced by the times while still maintaining a modern visual language is “The Jungle Book.” This book was produced in 1894 and illustrated by John Lockwood Kipling. It shows how symbolism is still present in the illustrations and narrative description of animal characters but has also been forgotten by society. In this book there is again a blatant use of symbolism projected through the animal's characteristics. Bagheera is one of the fictional characters in the book. He is the Black Morph of the big cat Jaguar who mentors Mowgli. He reveals to Mowgli his past, which shows his characteristics in more depth. His description evokes the medieval symbolism of a Black Morph Jaguar. In the medieval bestiary, a Jaguar is described as a “gentle beast”; only the dragon is his enemy”: “the enemy” refers to another character in the novel – Shere Khan who is the evil Bengal tiger. It was said that if you meet a black Jaguar, you meet your fears that you have kept hidden. The black Jaguar also symbolizes strength and power, which Bagheera offers Mowgli. The name Mowgli actually means "wild child", although it does not symbolize an animal, this obviously shows that symbolism is used in the publications.After the Renaissance, people became more interested in science and naturalism. With a sudden influx of interest in education, more people were able to read. Society quickly began to reject symbolism in illustrations and replace them with science, as they were no longer necessary. Charles Darwin was a naturalist and geologist who revolutionized science with his illustrations of animals. Darwin introduced the theory of evolution; this significantly changed the perspectives of those who were still considered creationists. Darwin's illustrations were important to those who were uneducated because they were able to notice the truth of the images. Although he is not known for his illustrations, he introduced a new visual language and new expectations for animal illustrations. It was not until the 18th century that animals were no longer considered a serious subject of art. It was used for more scientific purposes to demonstrate technical skills rather than works of art. Durer is a German painter renowned for his animal portraits. He painted an illustration of squirrels. In comparison with the medieval bestiary depiction of a squirrel, the illustration is a more accurate representation. The colors of Dürer's squirrel are much more realistic because they resemble the color of a real squirrel. The squirrel illustration from the medieval bestiary uses bright, unrealistic colors, which simply show the lack of available materials and understanding that people had at that time. The detail of the squirrel's tail – the thin lines it usually depicts to represent the bushy tail – is very different from the bestiary version, which looks more like a tree. The proportion of the two creatures is radically different; with the squirrel depicted in proportion to regular acorns and the huge squirrels which appear to be much larger than a tree. The creatures' faces are somewhat similar but the squirrel in the bestiary looks more like a bat than a squirrel. The people of the time who specialized in technical drawings were those who traveled the world, which meant they were able to experience and see the animal with their own eyes, rather than the stories and descriptions of others world travelers. This created a scientific boom, as the ability to properly document animals greatly improved our understanding of the natural world. Today, the way we use symbolism has been forgotten by society. Indeed, the majority of the population is now naturalist since we now have a good understanding of science. Animals have lost the meaning of symbolism in illustration over time. This is not to say that the symbolism has been completely forgotten, simply forgotten by society. However, many illustrations feature elements of animal symbolism like that of Disney. The Disney version of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” has important symbolic elements. The animals featured in the book contain elements of Christian symbolism, with the exception of non-historical Christian symbolism. The Bible says: “Preach the good news to all creation” – this means that even animals are considered sacred. Snow White shows this by communicating with animals and treating them with kindness. Snow White is meant to represent an element of Jesus, with the animals being his disciples or disciples. There are also elements of patriarchy with the animals and Snow White. This once again shows that the animals are the disciples of Snow White (Jesus). Although this is not a historical use of symbolism, :.