Bookshelves in Paintings
The bookshelf has always held an important role in artwork. In medieval paintings books symbolized knowledge and an openness towards the pursuit of learning. A library filled with bookshelves represented wisdom. (Here's 'St Jerome in his Study' by Antonello da Messina, 1475, National Gallery of London.)
In Korean folk art, artists painted screens with figurative images of the scholar's daily objects, especially their books.
Jean has many bookshelves in her art studio and at home, and often her artwork is surrounded by books too.
Jean's love of books means that they often find their way into her illustrations. Jean paints what she sees and so it's only natural for a falcon to visit a cat who has a bookshelf in his living room.
Here's Leo and Timothy from our children's book "Leo's Birthday Adventure".
