"The conclusion I have reached is that, above all, dogs are witnesses. They are allowed access to our most private moments. They are there when we think we are alone. Think of what they could tell us. They sit on the laps of presidents. They see acts of love and violence, quarrels and feuds, and the secret play of children. If they could tell us everything they have seen, all of the gaps of our lives would stitch themselves together."
- Carolyn Parkhurst, The Dogs of Babel
- Carolyn Parkhurst, The Dogs of Babel
Big Dog, Dwarf, and Boy, Jan Fyt, 1652, oil on canvas, Gemaldegalerie, Dresen
The dog is so large it seems slightly unrealistic.
The dog is so large it seems slightly unrealistic.
Two Hunting Dogs Tied to a Tree Stump, Jacopo Bassano, 1548, oil on canvas, Musee du Louve
"Produced in 1548 for the Venetian patrician Count Zantani, this work is the first animal portrait in Western painting. In a constrained framing typical of mannerism and a composition formed entirely of curves and counter-curves, the artist depicts his own dogs—two pointers—in a completely natural setting. He would often include them in his sacred works of the mid-sixteenth century." [http://mini-site.louvre.fr/venise/en/exhibition/between_sacred_and_profane.html#]
"Produced in 1548 for the Venetian patrician Count Zantani, this work is the first animal portrait in Western painting. In a constrained framing typical of mannerism and a composition formed entirely of curves and counter-curves, the artist depicts his own dogs—two pointers—in a completely natural setting. He would often include them in his sacred works of the mid-sixteenth century." [http://mini-site.louvre.fr/venise/en/exhibition/between_sacred_and_profane.html#]
Boy with Dogs in a Landscape, Titian, Rotterdam, Museum Boimans Van Beuninge
"Titian always demonstrated great attentiveness to animals in his works and a real genius for depicting their anatomy, their fur, their actions, and their expressions. On the left the bitch is suckling her two pups while the boy seems to be holding his balance by leaning on the standing dog." [http://mini-site.louvre.fr/venise/en/exhibition/between_sacred_and_profane.html#]
"Titian always demonstrated great attentiveness to animals in his works and a real genius for depicting their anatomy, their fur, their actions, and their expressions. On the left the bitch is suckling her two pups while the boy seems to be holding his balance by leaning on the standing dog." [http://mini-site.louvre.fr/venise/en/exhibition/between_sacred_and_profane.html#]
Cupid with Two Dogs, Veronese, Munich, Alte Pinakothek
"Throughout his career, Veronese showed a very pronounced taste for dogs, which always enlivened his history paintings. Yet, contrary to Bassano or Titian, he would depict the animals with less anatomical precision, preferring lines with graceful, slender forms with a highly decorative hint of geometrical abstraction."
"Throughout his career, Veronese showed a very pronounced taste for dogs, which always enlivened his history paintings. Yet, contrary to Bassano or Titian, he would depict the animals with less anatomical precision, preferring lines with graceful, slender forms with a highly decorative hint of geometrical abstraction."