Evolution in Art; BOOKS Darwin's Theories Had a Big Impact on the Arts as Well as on Science as Richard Edmonds Discovers Endless Forms, Charles Darwin, Natural Science and the Visual Arts Edited by Diana Donald and Jane Munro (Yale: Pounds 40)

Byline: Richard Edmonds

It is well known that during the 19th century, Charles Darwin (whose 200th anniversary falls this year) had a profound influence on the fields of biology and natural history, endowing us all with a biological history which included monkeys and great apes.

But Darwin's researches also had a considerable impact on the visual arts in both Europe and America, even influencing Hollywood. You only have to think of King Kong, eating his heart out for the girl, or Tarzan shedding tears at the death of his ape mother to get the picture.

If there was a similarity in the facial expressions of Tarzan and his fellow apes, cinematography was happy …

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Publication information: Article title: Evolution in Art; BOOKS Darwin's Theories Had a Big Impact on the Arts as Well as on Science as Richard Edmonds Discovers Endless Forms, Charles Darwin, Natural Science and the Visual Arts Edited by Diana Donald and Jane Munro (Yale: Pounds 40). Contributors: Not available. Newspaper title: The Birmingham Post (England). Publication date: February 27, 2009. Page number: 8. © 2009 Birmingham Post & Mail Ltd. COPYRIGHT 2009 Gale Group.

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