Let's Get To Know Dogs!: Dogs in Historical and Modern Art

The example I found for the depictions of dogs in historical art is a painting called “The Vision of Saint Eustace”. The painter was Pisanello, who was one of the most famous painters in early Italian Renaissance. Experts estimated that the painting was completed between 1438-42. In this painting, the artist portrayed Saint Eustace as a huntsman who went to hunt with many hunting dogs. Among all the hunting dogs portrayed, one of them was actually chasing a rabbit. Hunting scenes involving dogs are common themes in Renaissance art because hunting was seen as a regular sport in that particular period of time and dogs were usually the assistants in hunting activities.

Another painting I found for the depiction of dogs in historical art is the one called “Swan Attacked by a Dog”. It was created by a French painter, Jean-Baptiste Oudry in 1745. The dog in the painting was one of King Louis XV’s favorite hunting dogs. This painting reflected the hunting functions of dogs and their existence as status symbols. What is interesting is that the painting we are seeing right now is just a part of the original one, since a boar’s head and leg found in the picture refers to the existence of a dead boar hung from the tree.

As for contemporary art, artists tend to be more creative, rather than merely painting animals as accurate as possible. The materials they use to create artwork featuring dogs tend to be various and even strange. Many artists also use these artworks to raise people’s awareness of dog-related social problems. Firstly, I want to introduce the dog collages by Peter Clark. The artist uses old newspapers, maps and other colorful papers to “paint” dogs. The shades come from various density of the print, and he “creates substance and movement with lines plucked” from these used papers. His artwork is considered as “humorous” and “creative”.

Another contemporary example is George Rodrigue and his "Blue Dog". In all the artworks of Blue Dog, the dog is always in the same position staring at people who look at the dog. It was based on his passed-away dog Tiffany. According to the artist, the yellow eyes are the dog’s soul, and he believed dogs are talking to people with eyes all the time. He interpreted the eyes as longing for love and answers.