Since the dawn of civilization, paintings of dogs have hinted that the dog is "man's best friend". The first cave paintings of dogs date as far back as prehistoric times, around 4500 B.C. Although dogs appear less frequently in cave paintings than game animals - the main inspiration for this art - they are nevertheless present as hunting dogs unlike any currently known breed. More recent paintings from ancient Egypt show breeds similar to those of today.
Roman Empire: Watchdogs
In the Roman Empire, the status of dogs in society was changing. In fact, dogs were fully accepted as domestic animals who also protected the home and were a precious resource for hunting. They were constant companions, loyal and completely devoted to their owners. The dogs of the Roman Empire were essentially regal yet ferocious mastiffs who defended their home from strangers.
Middle Ages: Primarily Hunting Dogs
From the fall of the Roman Empire to the Middle Ages, dogs are nearly absent in art, perhaps because painters of the time feared stray dogs as aggressive, dangerous beasts who hungrily devoured carcasses. In Islam, dogs were seen as cursed symbols of death and the force of evil.
The use of dogs in hunting helped change public opinion. Still, in the early Middle Ages, dogs were valued only for their aggressiveness. Dogs reappear in paintings of this time usually in packs, rather than alone. Some paintings show kings hunting with their dogs, sometimes in packs of a thousand.
Over time, the portrayal of dogs in art became closer and closer to reality. Still, it is not always easy to determine exactly which breed is depicted in a piece, since subjects may be the result of crossbreeding. Nevertheless, each type of dog had his own specialty. Scenthounds are shown hunting only mammalian game, tracking it by its scent. These breeds with a similar appearance but different coat colors include the French Chien de Saint-Hubert, Chien Blanc du Roy, Fauve de Bretagne and Gris de Saint-Louis. Their names show quite clearly to whom they belonged or where they came from. Pointers are shown with falcons, hunting large game. These dogs were used to kill prey before the invention of rifles.
Renaissance: Dogs are Domesticated
Companion dogs begin to appear in paintings in the late Middle Ages. Renaissance ladies are shown with small dogs on their lap or at their feet. These greyhounds and other small breeds seem to enchant their mistresses, who show them a great deal of affection. Renaissance artists used dogs as subjects much more frequently than their predecessors. All sorts of breeds appear in sixteenth-century paintings, from the small companion dogs of ladies and damsels to dignified greyhounds to the larger dogs who accompanied lords.
In Renaissance times, dogs became closer to humans. Dogs are shown lying under the table at banquets, savoring the tidbits tossed by guests. They finally became full-fledged companion animals. Artists from many different countries used dogs as subjects: in Venice, for example, artists painted toy dogs reclining on cushions, being doted on by their mistresses during a gondola ride. Yet dogs were still indispensable hunting companions. Painters began to make a clearer distinction between the different kinds of hunting dogs (scenthounds, pointers, etc.).
Seventeenth Century To Today: Breeds Diversify
Starting in the seventeenth century, the number of breeds began to grow, once again because of hunting, at least at first. As hunting techniques and game diversified, so did hunting dog breeds.
Nevertheless, by the late seventeenth century, the focus had switched to smaller dogs like the King Charles, a favorite of royalty.
Little by little, dogs began to appear in paintings alone or at least as the focal point. Some artists began to specialize in animal subjects, including François Desportes (1661-1743, the official painter of King Louis XIV), Paul de Vos (1596-1678), and Jean-Baptiste Oudry (1686-1755).
Dogs were depicted with striking realism, both in terms of anatomy and expression. The postures and expressions characteristic to each breed were copied directly from reality. In some pieces, it seems as though the artist included a dog only to immortalize him!
More recently, in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, artists - and contemporary society as a whole - began to show a growing interest in dogs. In paintings, the packs of large hunting dogs that once served royalty are replaced almost entirely by domestic breeds and, in some cases, by sheepdogs and watchdogs. The painters of this period give an almost sentimental image of these dogs.
Soon the style became abstract. Dogs began to be portrayed as symbols, making it impossible to determine which breed had inspired a particular piece. Still today, dogs continue to be a source of endless admiration and inspiration, appreciated by all.
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