Cultural depictions of dogs

Cultural depictions of dogs in art has become more elaborate as individual breeds evolved and the relationships between human and canine developed.

There are illustrations of dogs on the walls of tombs dating back to the Bronze Age, as well as statues, children's toys, and ceramics depicting dogs. Hunting dogs are commonly portrayed.^[2] One of the prehistoric paintings estimated to be 9,000 years old found at the Bhimbetka rock shelters in India depict a dog held on a leash by a man.^[3] Rock art of Tassili n'Ajjer also include depictions that are highly suggestive of dogs.^[4][5]

The Ancient Greeks and Romans, contrary to the Semitic cultures, favored dogs as pets, valuing them for their faithfulness and courage; they were often seen on Greek and Roman reliefs and ceramics as symbols of fidelity.^[6] Dogs were given as gifts among lovers and kept as pets, guardians, and for hunting. Dogs were appreciated by the Greeks for their faith and love. Homer's Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus, who raised a dog called Argos, and who was the only one that recognized him when he returned home after his travels, disguised to conceal his appearance. This theme has been often depicted in ancient Greek vases.^[7]

The ancient Romans kept three types of dogs: hunting dogs, especially

• 
  Painting, Endymion and Selene with a dog, "House of the Dioscuri", Pompeii
• 
  Han dynasty ceramic dog
• 
  Court ladies playing with a small dog, Beauties Wearing Flowers by Tang dynasty painter Zhou Fang
• 
  Image of a goddess identified as Hecate or Artemis alongside a dog (Archaic Greece)
• 
  Greek terracotta statue dog with puppy
• 
  A pet dog's footprint and small sculpture on a Roman terracotta
• 
  Riders and dogs. Ancient Greek Attic black-figure hydria, ca. 510–500 BC, from Vulci. Louvre Museum, Paris.
• 
  Roman artwork inspired by Greek classical models, ca. 125 AD. From the Villa Adriana, near Tivoli.
• 
  Roman terracotta dog
• 
  Cave canem

  ! Watchdog from the House of Paquius Proculus, Pompeii
• 
  Roman cameo of dog
• 
  Statue of Roman sight-hounds

Middle Ages

Generally, dogs symbolize faith and loyalty.^[11] A dog, when included in an allegorical painting, portrays the attribute of fidelity personified.^[12] In a portrait of a married couple, a dog placed in a woman's lap or at her feet can represent marital fidelity. If the portrait is of a widow, a dog can represent her continuing faithfulness to the memory of her late husband.^[11]

An example of a dog representing marital fidelity is present in Jan van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait. An oil painting on oak panel dated 1434 by the Early Netherlandish painter Jan van Eyck, it is a small full-length double portrait,^[13] which is believed to represent the Italian merchant Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife,^[14] presumably in their home in the Flemish city of Bruges. The little dog symbolizes faithfulness, devotion or loyalty,^[13] or can be seen as an emblem of lust, signifying the couple's desire to have a child.^[15] Unlike the couple, the dog looks out to meet the gaze of the viewer.^[16] The dog could also be simply a lap dog, a gift from husband to wife. Many wealthy women in the court had lap dogs as companions, reflecting wealth or social status.^[17] During the Middle Ages, images of dogs were often carved on tombstones to represent the deceased's feudal loyalty or marital fidelity.^[18]

Hunting scenes

Hunting scenes were common topics in medieval and Renaissance art. Hunting in the medieval period was a sport exclusive to the aristocracy, and hunting was an essential part of court etiquette. Depictions of people with a hunting dog, hawks or falcons would signal status. Hunting dogs were connected to aristocracy, as only the nobility was allowed to hunt. Different breeds of dogs were used for different types of hunting. Hunting with dogs was so popular during the Middle Ages that wild bears were hunted to extinction in England.

Hunting dogs are seldom seen depicted in the company of

As the aristocracy often used hunting dogs, dogs were shown as symbols in heraldry. In the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, heraldry became a highly developed discipline. Dogs of various types, and occasionally of specific breeds, occur as charges and supporters in many coats of arms, and often symbolise courage, vigilance, loyalty, and fidelity.^[19]

Three

In the painting Portrait of a man writing at a table by the Dutch painter Hendrik Martenszoon Sorgh, a Protestant preacher and theologian, with the Bible opened on the table, is depicted with his dog. The dog represents fidelity, vigilance, and regularity in research, owing to the perceived natural intelligence and intuition of a dog.[24]^[25]

• 
  A woodcut illustration from The history of four-footed beasts and serpents by Edward Topsell, 1658
• 
  Johann Christof Merck, dog with a collar, 1705
• 
  John Wootton (1682–1764) A Grey Spotted Hound
• 
  White dog by Alexandre-François Desportes (1661–1743)

18th century

Netsuke are Japanese miniature sculptures of great artistic merit that also serve a practical function as toggles for cords used to attach small objects, boxes, or pouches to kimono, which traditionally have no pockets. Most netsuke production was during 1615–1868, in the Edo period in Japan. Among other motifs, netsuke often depicted dogs. The tradition of showing dogs in hunting scenes continued to the 18th century.^[26]

19th and 20th century

The picture entitled A Distinguished Member of the Humane Society depicts a dog that was well known in London. The dog, depicted in 1838 by Sir Edwin Landseer, was a Newfoundland called "Bob" who was found in a shipwreck off the coast of England. The dog found his way to the London waterfront, where he became known for saving people from drowning a total of twenty-three times over the course of fourteen years. For this, he was made a distinguished member of the

[26] There are stylistic differences between the British and European depictions; William Secord, a world expert on canine art,^[30] stated, "Belgian, Dutch, Flemish and German artists were more influenced by realism, depicting the dog the way it really looked, with dirt on it's [sic] coat and slobber and that kind of thing. You see Alfred Stevens, who's Belgian, do street dogs and dogs that are suffering, which in England you never see. British depictions were more idealized. They want it pretty, simply put.”^[31]

Contemporary

The prices achieved for canine art increased in the 1980s–1990s, and started to gain popularity in established art circles rather than antique markets. Buyers were generally divided into three dominant categories: hunters; breeders and exhibitors of pedigree dogs; and owners of companion animals.[32]

Pablo Picasso frequently included his canine companions in his paintings.^[33] Particularly well-known and often featured in his work was a Dachshund, named Lump, who actually belonged to David Douglas Duncan but lived with Picasso.^[34]

Depictions of dogs have extended as well to the artform of photography, a noted example being the work of photographer Elliott Erwitt.

Picture gallery

• Paintings of dogs as a companion
• 
  Jean-Léon Gérôme. Diogenes with dogs.
• 
  Painting by Hendrik Martenszoon Sorgh, a Dutch scholar sitting with his dog and parrot.
• 
  Self-portrait, by Louis Meijer. The painter's dog sits on his lap.
• 
  Gustave Courbet, Self-portrait with black spaniel dog.
• 
  Sir Edward Hales, Baronet, of Hales Place, Hackington, Kent with his dog, by Philippe Mercier
• 
  Unknown artist, portrait of a man with a beer, kite and his dogs.
• 
  Anthony van Dyck The five eldest Children of Charles I of England with two dogs
• 
  Pompeo Batoni (1708–1787) Portrait of Sir Wyndham Knatchbull-Wyndham with a whippet
• 
  Briton Rivière (1840-1920) Requiescat (Rest in peace) 1888

• Paintings of dogs
• 
  Gerrit Dou, Sleeping Dog, 1650
• 
  Henri Van Assche, Portrait of a dog, seated on a red cushion, 1801
• 
  Puppies by

  Carl Reichert

  (1836–1918)
• 
  Little Terrier by Frederick August Wenderoth, 1875
• 
  A Greyhound with Landscape by

  Alfred Dedreux

  (1810–1860)

• Statues of dogs
• 
  Roman statue of a hunting dog in Museo Pio-Clementino
• 
  Statue in the

  Capitoline Museums
• 
  Statue at the Fountain of Diana
• 
  Het Zinneke in Brussels
• 
  Statue in Strasbourg Cathedral
• 
  Statue at Nordkirchen Castle
• 
  Fountains in Berczy Park

See also

• List of fictional dogs
• List of individual dogs
• Dogs in religion
• Dog in Chinese mythology
• Dogs in Mesoamerican folklore and myth
• Islam and dogs
• Laelaps (mythology)
• Staffordshire dog figurine

References