What is it with all the paintings of alarmingly rectangular livestock in early-19th century Britain? Mostly cows, but also sheep and various barnyard animals, these weird creatures inhabit otherwise realistically-rendered canvases. The images now register as surreal, perhaps lowbrow, but what was the idea then?
The answer, as best I can find it, seems to be related to the points about status. Again, many of these paintings were made in the early 1800s, and the rectangular shape may have been another way of making the animals seem big and impressive.
This calls for a blockbuster mashup of Jane Austen and Minecraft.
