Art mediation is a unique format of familiarisation with the museum exposition, allowing each participant to share personal impressions, associations and interpretations. Travelling through the exhibition Animalist Art. In Jest and in Earnest will turn into a fascinating conversation about pictorial and sculptural images of animals and birds. We shall recall children's fairy tales and discuss mythological plots connected with magical transformations and werewolf characters. In addition, we shall turn to the work of Italian philosopher Giambattista della Porta on physiognomy, which puts forward the theory that human habits, character and manner of behaviour can express features of certain representatives of the animal world.