"This beautiful book presents a selection of 100 graphic artworks depicting animals, both real and mythical frogs, dogs, lions and unicorns - held in the prints and photography collections of the Bibliotheque nationale de France. Each image is accompanied by a commentary that provides a historical context for the image and on the natural and symbolic history of the beast depicted. The panoply of wonderful beasts includes Durer's rhinoceros, Manet's cats on their Parisian rooftops, a carp by Hiroshige and Matisse's elegant swan, and the artwork includes etchings, lithographs, engravings and woodcuts from the 16th century to the present. In his preface to the volume, the cultural historian Michel Pastoureau considers the symbolic power of animals in the human imagination, providing us with 'a huge repertoire of signs and dreams'." -- provided by publisher.