Abstrac. In this article, the romantic tradition of the depiction of animals (whether in arts or in literature) is observed, and the reflection of this tradition in avant-garde art and poetry is featured. Avant-garde artists continue to perceive an animal as a herald of the other world or as a double of a man reflecting his essence in one way or another, often ironically. The XX-century art was more profound then the romantic art in many aspects, such as discovering an animal as an observer with a different eye upon the world. Both romantic and avant-garde traditions originate in even more ancient genre traditions, like the fable tradition and that of bestiary.