ANIMAL LIFE IN ITALIAN PAINTING 



a wild boar, a camel, a bat, an eagle, a weasel or 

 stoat, monkeys, goats, foxes, hares, wild-ducks, quail, 

 a bald-headed vulture with trilled neck, and a lynx. 



The horses in the SL George and the Princess 

 (Verona, S. Anastasia) show evidence of even excessive 

 study, or rather of an uncompromising naturalism which 

 artistically somewhat defeats its purpose. Still, the 

 disposition of the animals is well differentiated ; the 

 group of the mule between two horses, for instance, 

 shows a sympathetic understanding of their peculiarities. 

 The alert muzzled greyhound, the nosing spaniel, and 

 the curly horned ram all show careful study. 



The boar appears as a symbol of the defeated flesh 

 at the feet of St. Anthony in the Vision of St. Anthony 

 and St. George (National Gallery), but without the 

 tusks of the powerful beast of the medal of Alfonso I. 

 of Naples, Venator Intrepidans. 



Dante mentions St. Anthony's pig in the Commedia — 



" Saint Anthony 

 Fattens with this his swine, and others worse 

 Than swine, who diet at his lazy board, 

 Paying with unstamped metal for their fare."^ 



In honour of the symbolism the pigs of the monks 

 of St. Anthony were allowed to roam and find food 

 unchecked, even when they added personal injury to 



* FaradisOf xxix. 124. 



68 



