Dog Art
The dog is said to be man’s oldest and closet friend, and their paw tracks are intermingled with human steps. Their early meeting with man was recorded with immediacy when such humans drew the likeness of the dog on their cave walls. What has made this bond the most persistent of any bond of mankind’s with any other animal on the planet is a mystery, but it is one to respect and consider as we move through the twenty first century. It has been said that the DNA of the dog is 75% identical to that of the human. Dog myths, and histories, folklore both dark and light, and the continual rendering of the dog in the plastic arts throughout history be it in green pottery figures of dogs from the Han Dynasty of China, to gorgeous and delicate porcelains of the 18th century French Salons is a story about art. Dog art possesses the human passions this species has woven throughout the fabric of human records. The American writer, Ernst Hemmingway has four small tombstones set next to each other in Cuba where his home is now a museum, marking in a prominent area in his yard, where he buried his canine companions. The Welsh Poet Dylan Thomas, when he wrote his early autobiography and titled it, “Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog.” The dog probably has influenced human history in ways still unrecorded as focus as to what makes things go a certain way is not looked at by examining these smaller but certain influences that have stood at man’s side, participating always in man’s historic journey through the ages. Honored and loved, the dog is and always will be represented in art. A companion to kings and to paupers, the dog stands alone as the beast who showers unconditional devotion on those to whom he is bonded.
Some books that cover the long history of artists and artisans portrayals of dogs are:
| THE ARTFUL DOG, CANINES FROM THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART Loyal dogs have always been by the side of great artists. In this celebration they are front and center. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which brought us Catnip, now presents masterpieces of dog-centric art. Each is accompanied by prose or poetry from some of the world’s great writers, humorists, and thinkers, including Edith Wharton, Groucho Marx, and William Shakespeare. A painting of puppies wrestling playfully in an American quilt is paired with Charles M. Schulz's cheerful "Happiness is a warm puppy." |
| BEST IN SHOW; THE DOGS IN ART FROM THE RENAISSANCE TO TODAY, by Edgar P. Bowron This beautifully produced book features sixty works by such illustrious artists as Francis Bacon, Gustave Courbet, Salvador Dalí, Lucian Freud, Thomas Gainsborough, Edouard Manet, Andy Warhol, William Wegman, Andrew Wyeth, and many more. Four fascinating essays by distinguished scholars discuss the dog in the context of the art of the 16th through the 21st centuries; examine the purebred and how breeds have developed and changed over the years; and outline the results of scientific inquiry over the centuries regarding the nature of dogs. |
| A DOG’S LIFE IN ART AND LITERATURE, By Iain Zackzek An affectionate look at the ways in which artists have depicted dogs through the ages, whether as faithful friends or hunting companions, sculpted in marble or sketched. This is a detailed history of dogs in art. |
 | For more than 5000 years, artists have created an extraordinary array of captivating images of the dog – the animal that has enjoyed the closest and most intriguing relationship with man. This beautiful book is lavishly illustrated with works from all over the world, ranging from the earliest African rock paintings to the groundbreaking work of contemporary artists. It explores the various roles the dog has played in both art and society, including its depiction as a symbol of fidelity and romantic love; as a prized possession, vaunting its owner’s power and wealth; as a treasured and loyal pet; as a mythological being, mysteriously travelling between the lands of the living and the dead; as a religious image of purity, or dissolution; and as an indispensable working and hunting companion. |
