L’ermellino di Leonardo. Dodici storie di animali fra arte e natura

12 animals observed in their artistic representation by Martina Corgnati, and in their actual presence in the natural environment and in some fundamental ecological elements by Ananda Banerjee.Their stories are told in simple and exciting language, intentionally open to non-specialists and aimed above all at lovers of nature and art – or both: short, curious and compelling pictures, though always impeccably documented and illustrated. From the giraffe faithfully depicted by Piero di Cosimo in the Stories of Vulcan and Aeolus (Ottawa, National Gallery of Canada) to Albrecht Dürer’s Rhinoceros (1515); from the lion painted by Giotto in a corner of the Scrovegni Chapel (Padua), to the ermine of Leonardo da Vinci’s Lady of the same name (Hermitage); from the Ustad Masur’s dodo and Frida Kahlo’s parrots: the selection briefly traces the history of art from Late Antiquity to the 20th century, looking at completely different environments and issues, including, in part, the relationship between man and animal and its changes over time. So the animals chosen, some of the most iconic in the history of art, also play a crucial role in the current perspectives on nature conservation and protection.