Skeptic lynx, stoned fox and other horrors of taxidermy

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:41

Despite the fierce disputes between art connoisseurs, it cannot be denied that not only academic classics have the right to life. This is displayed in the best possible way in painting, where anatomically correct images of people coexist with the most incredible abstractions. Some might consider taxidermy not quite an art, but in fact, it takes talent to create a stuffed animal skin, or at best a real skeptical lynx will turn out. What kind of animal is this and why did it get such an expressive name? It is worth taking a closer look at the scarecrows, not everything is so simple.

Taxidermy mistakes

For an uninitiated person, there is nothing difficult in the process of stuffing stuffed animals - here is the skin, you just need to fill it with some kind of filler, and you're done. However, in fact, the skin is not a pillowcase on a pillow; living beings are much more complicated. The shape of the skeleton, differently developed muscle groups, the structure of ligaments and tendons - all thisgives the body a natural shape, and taxidermists skillfully recreate them so that the animal seems alive. But mistakes are inevitable here.

The most famous failure in this area is the Gripsholm lion (pictured above), a stuffed animal of which is kept in the museum of the castle of the same name, in Sweden. But here the taxidermist had a good excuse - he had never seen a live lion. Apparently, he got the skin taken from a dead animal, so the result of his efforts looks like a caricature.

Stoned fox phenomenon

Did Adele Morse, then a young and inexperienced British taxidermist, know that her first experience would become so famous? The sad fox sitting on a chair has become wildly popular in Russia. If on the English-speaking Internet people laughed and the story ended there, then in our country the stoned fox quickly became the hero of all kinds of photo-toads, turning into a meme. Not a single unfortunate scarecrow that ends up in humorous collections has received such fame. However, there is an interesting nuance here.

If you read the description of the skeptical lynx or just look at the photo, you can immediately notice the amazingly expressive grimace frozen on the muzzle of the stuffed animal. This is really skepticism! An incredulous and slightly ironic face seems to question everything in advance.

Skeptic lynx as an illustration of popularity

The main difference between "hyped" failures is that the audience feels an emotional response. failures andmistakes in taxidermy are very common, young masters need to learn from something, and those who like to laugh will always find a reason to scoff. Another thing is that in our time, for fame, it is not necessary to do something well. Sometimes it's enough to do so badly that it is noticed and promoted.

The skeptical lynx has not become as popular as the stoned fox. On the other hand, hundreds of ridiculous scarecrows have received no notoriety at all, except for a place in countless humorous compilations.