Curious Beasts: Animal prints from Dürer to Goya

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Curious Beasts delves into our enduring curiosity about the animal world through beautiful and bizarre imagery found in prints of the 15^th to the early 19^th centuries in the British Museum’s collection. The exhibition explores the natural world as it was expressed in the vibrant print culture of the early modern period. Printmaking emerged as a major art form and communication tool in the 15^th century, coinciding with an increasing interest in and investigation of flora and fauna.

Featuring over 80 works on paper and rare items from the South Australian Museum’s collections, Curious Beasts looks at how printmakers contributed to knowledge of animals, but also at the wildly different ways in which the animal subject inspired graphic artists. The exhibition features prints by well-known artists such as Albrecht Dürer, Francisco de Goya and George Stubbs, as well as many treasures by artists rarely seen. 

The South Australian Museum is the only venue in the Southern Hemisphere showing this extraordinary collection. It will be the last time the prints will be seen together before they return back to storage in the Study Room of the British Museum.

During Curious Beasts enjoy a variety of programs for children, young adults and adults to explore the relationship between the invention of printmaking and increasing curiosity about the natural world. 

The presentation of this exhibition is a collaboration between the British Museum and the South Australian Museum.