Animals in Art and Thought by Francis Klingender (review)

366 Books Plato’s cave and consist of mere shadows transcending space and time. Subsequent chapters deal with space and time, life, man and, finally, God. In each case the author has presented scientific concepts that the average reader would seldom encounter in such a way that even though one might be unable to understand the theories completely without a scientificbackground, the essential mystery of the conclusions seemsalways quite clear. Animals in Art and Thought. Francis Klingender. Evelyn Antal and John Harthan, eds. Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, 1971. 580 pp.. illus. f12.00. Reviewed by: Carson I. A. Ritchie” Klingender had a double quarry to pursue while writing this book, the visible trace that animals have left in art through the ages and the attitudes towards life which they stimulated in men’s minds. Because there are many more animal lovers (or haters) than there are artists, it is not surprising that the hunt for art is at a check from time to time while the hunt IS elsewhere after the social consequences of animals. Even artists who are primarily interested in animals because they are challenging to portray or because they are a pleasant relief from humanity, will be interested in the ethical or religious symbolism by which they have become charged. The image of the flea, for example, is to lead man to recognize his own infirmity and ‘to invoke the name of God’. In my case, usually only the second of these is my aim. I found the sociological element in this book thoroughly enjoyable. This is partly because the reader who comes under the influence of Klingender will have to throw over most of the concepts about the role of animals in art that he has accepted in the past, like the character in Lewis Carroll who: ‘Thought he saw an Albatross/That fluttered round the lamp;/He looked again, and found it was/A penny-postage-stamp.’ Take the paintings on the caves of Lascaux, for instance. 1 had always assumed that they were a piece of sympathetic magic designed to ensure good hunting. The author demonstrates, 1 believe conclusively, that they were a ritual of expiation for sin incurred through violating incest taboos. Similarly, the mediaeval hunt, which might seem a mere colourful background to a tapestry or an illumination, is really a symbolic slaughter of the feudal lord, who is identified by his liegemen with the beast of the chase. Their motive isjealousy, for the adored lady of every true knight ‘was invariably his lord’s wife’. The illustrations are well chosen but have not all reproduced well. They provide a useful check list on the appearance of animals in art at different epochs. The text charts their progress through literature, philosophy and religion. It is reinforced by a splendid array of quotations and a very useful index of animals. There are chapters on the highlights of animal imagery; those * 6 Lee Terrace, Blackheath, London S.E.3, England. on the Barbaric animal styles and the Apocalyptic tradition being of particular interest. There are, however, some surprising omissions from the scope of this book, which covers the period from the Stone Age to the later Middle Ages. Mindful of my experiences in preparing an exhibition of ivories devoted to the animals of the Bible, I consulted Klingender on the place of animals in the Old Testament, only to find that it was first mentioned in connection with the Carolingian renaissance . Criticism of the book on this score, and others, may be muted by the fact that it isa Caesarian operation performed on the notes Klingender left at his early death. We are lucky to have it in any form and it is likely to remain the classic work on animal symbolism for our lifetime. Tantra Asana. A Way to Self-realization. Ajit Mookerjee. Ravi Kumar, Paris, 1971. 161 pp., illus. Reviewed by: Vic Gray* ‘Before creation there was unity. . . . Man and woman are the mould of ultimate expression; the one which becomes two constantly aspires to become one again.’ This is a beautiful book; a visual introduction to the world of Tantra. Mookerjee in his quest for the still centre of’the...