ANTH 300 the Enlightenment

8/17/2019 ANTH 300 the Enlightenment

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/anth-300-the-enlightenment 1/49

Animals, Culture, and

Society



Animals, Culture, andSociety

• The Enlightenment has its roots in 17th centuryEurope, and is characterized by emphasizing theimportance of reason and science oversuperstition and religion

• Key thiners !ere "oce, #ousseau, $e!ton, and%oltaire

• The movement !as centered in &rance butin'uenced the thining behind the American#evolution



Animals, Culture, and Society

• (eginning in the 1)**s and 17**s,animals !ere increasingly seen asphilosophical and ethical sub+ects

• This attitude !as fueled by these trends• -idespread availability of print media

• .ncreasing urbanization

• The popularity of vivisection

• The commodi/cation of animals for food and labor




• .n science, debate e0isted around !hetheranimals !ere moral and rational, lie humans

•

#ene escartes argued that animals !ere notrational, moral, or even conscious2 – 3e argued that animals !ere nothing more than

machines

• 4ontaigne, on the other hand, claimed thatanimals !ere more moral and rational thanhumans




• %ivisection !as thought to be acceptable2

• "ive animal dissection occurred in vie! of

the public 5in order for a live audience toprovide !itness and veri/cation62

•

According to escartes, animals could notfeel pain – Animals responses !ere considered mechanical

reactions to stimuli




%ideo

8Three 4inute 9hilosophy #ene escartes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHihkRwisbE







• uring this time period, paintings of dead

animals in maret and itchen scenes !erestill being produced

• ead animal corpses !ere consideredob+ects of beauty yet animals !ere

considered to be far inferior to humans

• .n other !ords, nature !as simultaneouslyappreciated and e0ploited




• uring the 9rotestant #eformation in Europe,the best source of income for painters ; theChurch << !as eliminated

• .n the $etherlands, ho!ever, artists !ere ableto thrive

• 4any utch artists depicted scenes of natureand daily life, instead of religious portraits



%ideo

8The utch =olden Age8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvY8dQQI13Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvY8dQQI13Q




• uring this time period in the 1)th century, the middleclass continued to e0pand2

• -ith this middle class e0pansion came an increase in

economic and cultural e0pansion 5along !ith a demandfor game piece paintings62

• The rising middle class !as not allo!ed to hunt prizedgame, so the ne0t best thing !as to o!n a game piece

• A game piece !as proof of the rising social status ofthe o!ner




• %ideo

8The Age of #eason8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBKRCW8gk0k&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBKRCW8gk0k&feature=related




• ead animal trophy art in the 17th century continuedthe animal paintings that began in the 1>**s

•"arge panoramic hunting scenes !ere painted !ith thedetail of a still life

• The early game pieces from the /rst half of the 17th century !ere painted by 9eter 9aul #ubens and &ransSnyders

• Snyders often used human positions to pose deadanimals, !hich made them resemble human !arriors



.mage http??elogedelart2canalblog2com





• The game piece !as a display of animals that only thenobility !ere allo!ed to hunt 5stags, boars, s!ans, etc62

• These prized animals displaced the common domesticanimals in the itchen and maret scenes

• $otably, Snyders game pieces !ere completely devoidof blood

• The tendency to eliminate blood and gore from thedead animal paintings may have been an early sign ofan ob+ection to illing animals

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• After 1)>*, game piece art became less culinary and moretrophy<lie

• The depiction of e0travagant abundance in maret and itchenscenes !as replaced by fe!er dead animals in game settings

• (irds !ere among the most popular animals depicted in deadanimal paintings

• 4any species of birds !ere hunted at the time

• -hen the birds !ere caught and illed, their heads !ere placedbet!een a !illo! branch 5to arrange them in a neat ro!6




• #embrandt painted some of the earlieste0amples of hunting and animal portraiture

• 4ost hunting portraits !ere e0travagantcelebrations of the aristocracy

• "ie the game piece, hunting portraits !ereattempts to mae statements about socialstatus




.mage http??!!!2rembrandtpainting2net




• .n the 17th century, many artists paintedordinary live animals lie co!s, horses, deer,dogs, and birds

• &or the /rst time since anti@uity, animals!ere represented on their o!n account 5notin a human conte0t6

• &or instance, they !ere often portrayed in/elds and meado!s




• .n the 1th century, prize cattle !ere paintedas a !ay to emphasize the o!ners socialstatus 5i2e2, the bigger, the better6

• The purpose of livestoc breeding !as toproduce animals for Baccelerated meat

production:

• These animals gre! very large to providemore meat

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• uring the Enlightenment period, animal portraiture!as often used to convey political messages

• These portraits !ere used as symbols in displays of

struggle and violence

• Animal struggleconsisting of predator versus prey!as a theme commonly portrayed to signify a political

message

• 9olitically, animal representations !ere used topromote resistance to outside aggression and tyranny




• .mages commissioned by and for the!ealthy included

• ead and live animal portraiture• 3unting trophies

• #epresentations of biological perfection

•

9olitical symbolism




• &or the common people of England and &rance, the1th century brought plague and famine

• As a result of privation and hardship, rituals and

ceremonies !ere central to these peoples life

• 9eople of the 17th and 1th centuries made heavy useof animals and animal symbolism in these rituals and

ceremonies

• Some of these ritualized celebrations included animalbaitings




• %ideo

• 8Children in the Eighteenth Century8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkQmDcYk7iE







• #oosters !ere !hipped on Shrove Tuesday

• ogs !ere !hipped on St2 "ues ay

• Cats !ere tortured in general

• Cats in particular !ere commonly associated!ith !omen and symbolic of !itchcraft



Animals, Society, andCulture

.mage http??!!!2all<art2org?history




• Animal imagery !as central to dramatic streettheater

•.n the case of punishment for se0ual oDences,shaming ceremonies used animal imagery

• &or instance, a youthstressed up lie a stag!ould

collapse and be Bslaughtered: at an oDenders door

• This shaming ritual served as a public announcementof disgrace

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• &orcing people to ride !ooden

horses !as a form of publicpunishment

Animals Culture and




•.n "ondon during the 1)**s, animals !ere e0hibited at fairs, festivals, andsidesho!s

•eformed domestic animals !ere often sho!n alongside giants, d!arves, orhair<covered children

• Talented animalssuch as dancing bears, performing birds, and trainedhorses!ere very popular attractions

<<3ares could be trained to play drums

<<&leas pulled chariots

<<&lies dueled !ith each other using pieces of stra!

•Animals engaged in human activities !ere also found in !ritten and visual art




• %ideo

8=enuine &lea Circus8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gauReGP_Tps

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gauReGP_Tps




• .n the 1th century, special combatarenas !ere established in large to!ns

• At these arenas, /ghts bet!een mastiDsand bearsas !ell as bulls and lionsbecame institutionalized entertainment

• .n 9aris, people pitted dogs against!olves and polar bears against mastiDs




• As !orld e0ploration increased, more e0otic animals !ere importedinto Europe

• These animals !ere 516 o!ned privately, 56 put in menageries, and

5F6 used in public displays

• A large number of e0otic animals !ere ept as pets for the !ealthy

• &or aristocrats in the 17th century, parrots !ere associated !ith

must<have lu0ury items

• .n general, pet<eeping !as @uite common in the 1th century5including pet bats, pet toads, and pet hedge<hogs6




.mage




• .n the late 17**s, almost everyone had a dog

• The authorities tried to limit the number of dogso!ned by the poor through a dog ta0

• ogs !ere mass slaughtered to halt the spread ofrabies

• #oaming animals !ere considered unsanitarybecause they !ere not part of a /0ed socialrelationship




• At the beginning of the Enlightenment,animal sho!s !ere considered opportunitiesfor education in natural history

• E0hibits !ere meant to teach people aboutanimals natural habitats

• (e that as it may, animals !ere ept incages !ith decorated !alls that !erenothing lie their natural habitats




• .n the 17th century, menageries and curiositycabinets !ere /nally open to the public

•#oyalty and the aristocracy !anted toappear favorable to the general public

• &or the royal menagerie in the To!er of"ondon, people traveled far and !ide to seelions, tigers, bears, eagles, and moneys




• %ersailles had one of the best no!n and !ell<documented menageries of all time

• .t !as intended for peaceful animals and e0oticgifts given to the ing

• The menagerie had a uni@ue octagonalarchitecture

• This design allo!ed the monarch to see the !holemenagerie from his central salon




• %ideo

84enagerie du Hardin des 9lantes8

http://www.tripfilms.com/Travel_Video-v42-Paris-Menagerie_du_Jardin_des_Plantes-Video.html

http://www.tripfilms.com/Travel_Video-v42-Paris-Menagerie_du_Jardin_des_Plantes-Video.html




• There !as a close connectionbet!een art and the display ofnature at %ersailles

• "ouis I.% had prominent artists painteach animal

• The animals !ere used to entertainguests during royal receptions and

pageants

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• Animals did not thrive in menagerie life

• They died from the cold and developedcon/nement deformities 5i2e2, beavers could nots!im6

• Eventually, the %ersailles animals !ere moved tothe Hardin des 9lantes and dedicated to science

• The garden !as turned into a natural historymuseum

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• The animals at Hardin des 9lantes !ere sometimesdissected by the Academie royale des sciences

• This careful study of animal anatomy greatly enhanced

scienti/c illustration

• #embrandts dra!ings include numerous studies ofanimals 5both domestics and e0otics6

• .n 3olland during the 17th century, the invention of themicroscope changed the !ay people sa! the natural!orld

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• .n the 17th century, Christians began to agree!ith 4ontaignes argument that =od cared asmuch for the !elfare of animals as for man

• According to this philosophy, even !orms,beetles, snails, and spiders should be treated

more humanely

• Cruel farm practices generated la!s against

bringing unnecessary harm to animals

A i l C l d




.mage http??!!!2ne!statesman2com

A i l C lt d




• As this sentimentality to!ard animals gre!, animalbehavior became increasingly anthropomorphized

• Animals !ere used as representations of the human

condition

• #arely !as the natural !orld addressed for !hat it !as

•.t !as not uncommon for poets to spea directly toanimals in their poetry

– 5i2e2, -illiam (lae:Am not ., A 'y lie theeJ:6

A i l C lt d




• A good e0ample is #obert (urns poem abouta mouse he accidentally illed !ith a plough

•

(urns identi/ed !ith the mouse

• 3e compared her trouble to his o!nhardships

• (urns engaged !ith this particular mouse

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• -ritings about cruelty to !ild birds had anin'uence on middle<class attitudes to!ardanimals

• .n 1th century &rance, chained and cagedanimals symbolized human slavery, prison,and oppression

• .t !as lined to concern for the e0ploitationof other humans

A i l C lt d




%ideo

• 8Animal Court Trials8

A i l C lt d

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dE-JhQt9_Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dE-JhQt9_Q




• "ooing at cruelty !as one of the bestmeans of sho!ing the horror of animalsuDering

• Artist -illiam 3ughes portrayed The FourStages of Cruelty

• The intention of this piece !as to reach thelargest possible audience at the cheapestpossible price

Animals Culture and




.mage

A i l C lt d




• $evertheless, animal e0ploitation often occurred in urban areas

• uring the 17th and 1th centuries, animals !ere increasinglycommodi/ed for food and labor

•England !as a Bhell for horses:

• 3orses under!ent miserable !oring conditions, as did co!s,chicens, pigs, and sheep

• According to some critics, these animals labored as part of the!oring class

• .n other !ords, these animals !ored under the same capitalistsystem as humans

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ANTH 300 the Enlightenment

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