Famous dog paintings

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

A dog means a lot in a person's life. This is one of its oldest satellites. It is not surprising that in art these animals were often depicted both on canvases and in sculpture. Artists simply could not exclude this image from life. Pictures with dogs were made in different techniques, styles, in the literal and metaphorical sense. Canvases depicting them hang in museums and are part of private collections. More details about some of the works can be found in this article.

Arthur Elsie

The artist created at a time when it became popular to depict scenes of domestic life. The rapidly growing middle class preferred to see something more familiar. Particular attention was paid to stories where the main characters were small children. Most often in the paintings they were depicted in the process of playing with pets.

Among other artists who worked in this direction, the most famouswas Arthur John Elsie. His works depicted quiet, sweet and warm scenes and gained immense popularity during the life of the creator.

The canvas called "Good night" is filled with home comfort and joy. It depicts a little girl in a nightgown being led to bed by her mother or nanny. A child waves goodbye to a large St. Bernard dog and two small puppies.

Here the life of man and animal closely touch. An adult dog calmly looks at the departing child, and the puppies have not yet completely departed from the previous game. They will probably also go to sleep soon.

Fyodor Reshetnikov

Another painting with dogs on a realistic theme. Title - "Again deuce." Here the dog is not the main character of the picture, but is an integral part of it. All the heroes of the canvas are upset that the boy came home again with a bad grade, but only the dog is sincerely glad to see his friend. It does not matter to her how well the child studies, because she has been waiting for his return all day. A faithful four-legged friend will share with the boy both fun minutes of games and severe punishment.

Cassius Coolidge

It is impossible to talk about paintings about dogs and not mention one of the most famous paintings - "Dogs Playing Poker". Its author Cassius Coolidge was a popular cartoonist. One of the subjects in his performance is dogs, which are depicted in "human" situations.

Together these canvases form a series of 16 paintings. It was they who brought fame to the artist. The paintings were commissioned by the advertising agency Brown & Bigelow, whoneeded illustrations for a cigar company calendar.

There were no specific requirements and restrictions on the plot, so Coolidge embodied a bold and original idea - he presented well-known situations from people's lives, but with one significant difference - the heroes were dogs of various breeds.

In one of the illustrations, little bulldogs are playing poker against "serious" opponents. Those keep themselves decorously, but all the time they are defeated, but two small rivals cheat and tear off a solid amount. The two paintings "Bold Bluff" and "Waterloo" show the same scene. On the first one, the St. Bernard wants to get all the winnings with the help of a bluff, and on the second, his partners in the game are outraged that they succumbed, and the St. Bernard's cards turned out to be far from large.

Thomas Blix

The favorite entertainment of the aristocracy of the 18-19th centuries. there was a hunt. This hobby has become popular both in Russia and abroad. One of the artists who painted many pictures of hunting with dogs was Thomas Blinks.

His work was often exhibited in the gallery of the Royal Society of Great Britain, as well as in the Academy. The artist was distinguished by the skill of depicting hunting dogs while chasing and resting.

Blinks' paintings very accurately convey the beauty of nature, the excitement that arises while chasing prey, the tension of both animals and people.

Arthur Wardle

British artist who often made animals the subjects of his paintings. He portrayed both wild animals and domestic ones. Warld has many paintings withdogs. One of them is called Day Walk.

On it we see a young lady in a lovely dress, who looks dreamily into the distance. She is surrounded by three dogs of different breeds. The lady holds the smallest of them in her arms.

Everything here is simple and easy. A change is being felt in art as the needs of the audience began to dictate to artists what exactly should be depicted in the paintings if they want to sell it.

Sir Edwin Landseer

He is one of the most famous painters of the Victorian era, the favorite author of Queen Victoria. He was also an excellent sculptor. His lions that adorn Trafalgar Square have become a real symbol of this place.

In the 19th century, scientists became more and more interested in the presence of intelligence in animals. That is why, in his works, Landseer depicts dogs in a state of strongest emotions, giving the features a resemblance to a person.

On his canvases, the artist often wrote the same breed of dogs. This variety of Newfoundland was later named after Landseer.

For example, the picture "Saved". On it, a dog pulled a girl out of the water, who is unconscious. The animal is exhausted and frightened that the child may not wake up. The dog looks up pleadingly, just as we sometimes look at the sky in difficult times and ask for help.

Philip Reingel

It wasn't just British artists who had a passion for depicting animals. One of the famous paintings with dogs belongs to the brush of the Scottish painter Philip Reingel and is called"Portrait of an unusual musical dog."

It depicts a four-legged performer with a very serious and focused muzzle. One gets the impression that the artist distracted him from an important rehearsal or composition process by asking him to pose a little. Reingel skillfully placed accents: after all, the dog's coat is dark chocolate in color, and only a few spots on the muzzle make it possible to clearly distinguish the features of the animal.

B. Adam

This artist created a special painting of a dog with puppies. In the barn or in the hayloft, where she is given a place, mother and her kids rest away from the hustle and bustle. It seems as if she is looking at the viewer warily, allowing him to get close enough, but still preparing to protect her offspring if necessary.

The puppies, having drunk enough and eaten hearty meals, settled down near their mother and lazily doze off. The color scheme of the picture is also of interest: a combination of red, brown and black tones is enhanced by sunlight penetrating the room.

Unlike previous artists, B. Adam does not give the muzzle or the expression of the eyes of animal resemblance to human ones. His dog is more real, but that doesn't make it any less beautiful.

Anton van Dyck

A photo of a painting with a dog by this artist is easy to find on the net. Van Dyck is famous for more than one painting. His mastery is evident not only in the amazing technique, but also in the intricacies of the composition.

In the center of the picture sits a hugemastiff dog. We see that this is a faithful and devoted friend of the family. However, its coat is depicted in such a way that, despite its impressive size, the viewer's gaze briefly lingers on the animal. Much more interesting is the face of the young prince. The color of his suit contrasts with the dog, and his eyes are riveting. After looking at all the other children, we follow the infant's hand pointing at the animal and return to it again.

Paintings with dogs play an important role in the development of art. With their help, artists could betray the atmosphere of warmth and comfort, well-being and prosperity, movement and speed. No wonder these animals have been with us for so long.