Alligator Art

Alligator art document one of the most unchanged creatures in existence. Alligators date their lineage back to prehistoric times when dinosaurs were still alive and are one of the most pure examples of the ferocity of those ancient monsters. This nature is highlighted in photographic reptile images as well as alligator paintings where these creatures are still depicted as fearsome predators.

Many master artists displayed alligators in their paintings for a variety of reasons. In Eugene Delacroix's wild animal painting, 'Lion and Alligator, 1863', a young alligator is being eaten by a lion. This work was a political statement about the troubled relations between England and Jamaica at the time of the American Civil War. Another artist that an explored alligator in his work was Peter Paul Rubens, whose alligator depiction in 'Hippopotamus and Alligator Hunt' became synonymous with the ferocity and deadliness of these reptiles.