England's Cows Were Rectangular in the 19th Century

For a time, we could believe what we saw in photographs. That's not always the case now, and before photography, we relied on paintings. However, if you were to study the history of English livestock by looking at paintings, you would be amazed at the shape of those animals. Were these cows really shaped like rectangles, or were they painted by artists who weren't familiar with cows?

The answer is neither. Wealthy livestock breeders commissioned those paintings, and the artists gave their customers what they wanted. Farmers were busy experimenting with breeding stock and with various diets to produce ever-larger animals. A portrait that showed the ultimate in beef would help them sell cattle. The fact that they aren't at all realistic didn't stop the practice. There are consistent inconsistencies in these rectangular cows, such as a beefy, taut brisket on the creature's chest, when a realistic full brisket would be lumpy with extra skin. As they were painted, the brisket became another corner of the rectangle.

And it wasn't just cows, either. Portraits of pigs made them look round and unrealistically enormous, while sheep were large ovals with tiny heads and spindly legs. Read about this art phenomenon and see a gallery of rectangular cows and other livestock portraits at Rare Historical Photos.  -via Everlasting Blort