Portraits of Dogs at The Wallace Collection
Edwin Landseer, Doubtful Crumbs, 1858-1859 © The Trustees of The Wallace Collection
“The artist receives a new piece of paper from an assistant and continues his attempt as soon as both dogs have accommodated themselves – not knowing for how long they will stay in their position this time.”
“Landseer is known for his storytelling, using moral symbolism in order to comment critically on contemporary society.”
“Queen Victoria, as well as Prince Albert, had drawing and etching lessons with artist Landseer.”
“The exhibition is much more than a good prelude for a closer look at portraits of dogs, their role and meaning during centuries of companionship between humans and dogs”
Portraits of Dogs at The Wallace
Roman Greyhounds, Teaching the Royals and Wayward Portrait Sitters
★★★★
WRITTEN BY DR BIRGITTA HUSE, 02.06.2023
Have you ever tried to draw, sketch, or take a photo of a four-legged friend? If so, you probably struggled with similar problems as David Hockney. A video which is part of the “Portraits of Dogs” exhibition at The Wallace Collection, London, depicts Hockney while drawing one of his dachshunds. Hockney is kneeling and sketching with a pencil in front of his dog which is resting on a cushion when Hockney’s second dog turns up and approaches the artist. Soon the artist’s four-legged friend moves towards the cushion and adjusts itself near to his animal companion who naturally moves as a consequence. The scene changes, as does the former position of the first and only portrait sitter. Hockney’s sketch, which he worked on so far, becomes obsolete. The artist receives a new piece of paper from an assistant and continues his attempt as soon as both dogs have accommodated themselves – not knowing for how long they will stay in their position this time. It is appealing to get a glimpse of how Hockney worked on his many portraits of dogs. The artist, finally, looks content while posing on an armchair together with his dogs and being surrounded by several of his colourful dog portraits.
David Hockney and his dachshunds. Still of exhibition video. Photo: Birgitta Huse
Unknown artist, The “Roman Townley Greyhounds”, 1st – 2nd Century CE. Photo: Birgitta Huse
Dog portraits are not new in the history of fine art. When entering the “Portraits of Dogs” exhibition at The Wallace Collection we are welcomed by a 1st – 2nd Century CE, 65 cm high marbled “Roman Townley Greyhounds” sculpture from Monte Cagnolo, Italy. Made by an unknown artist the sculpture was discovered by archaeologist Gavin Hamilton near Rome and became a part of the ex-collection of Charles Townley (1737-1805), a collector and connoisseur of mainly classical antiquities – hence the title for the artwork. In 1814 the sculpture was purchased by the British Museum from Peregrine Edward Townley, the cousin and inheritor of Townley. It is not only the Roman sculpture itself which is impressive but also its history which shines a light on this object’s changing contexts and corresponding titles for it. In The Wallace Collection exhibition, the white marble dogs contrast the painted dog portraits which are on display in the same room as the sculpture. The painted portraits of aristocratic dogs are characterised by darker colours.
Several of the dog portraits on show are painted by Sir Edwin Landseer (1802 – 1873) whose lion sculptures at the base of Nelson’s Column at Trafalgar Square are one of the main attractions for London tourists. When it comes to dog painting, Landseer is known for his storytelling, using moral symbolism in order to comment critically on contemporary society. In his painting “Doubtful Crumbs” from 1858-9, for example, Landseer refers to the inequality of the rich and poor. The object of desire is a big bone with meat in the centre of the painting. Landseer uses different dog breeds, body size as well as age difference and fur structure to mark the difference between the bone-owning dog and the bone-wanting dog as obvious as possible.
Edwin Landseer, Doubtful Crumbs, 1858 - 1859. ©The Trustees of The Wallace Collection
The exhibition continues to tackle dog’s functions as lap dogs. Especially famous within this category are Pekinese dogs, whose Asian origin and partially illegal transit from China to England is explained. Artist’s dog portraits like the ones of Lord Byron’s and Sir John Soane’s dogs lead towards the display of portraits of dogs owned by Royalty. “Hector, Nero and Dash with the Parrot, Lory”, 1838, by Sir Edwin Landseer was much liked by Queen Victoria. A special pleasure for me was to have a close look at the drawings made by Queen Victoria herself. She, as well as Prince Albert, had drawing and etching lessons with artist Landseer. I wonder which difficulties she might have encountered while sketching her dachshunds named Waldina and Waldmann. The German “Waldmann” translates to “forest man” and might refer to the old German name Waldemar which means “famous sovereign” – how suitable a name for a dachshund, frequently used for this kind of dog!
Queen Victoria, 1846. Waldina and Waldmann. Photo: Birgitta Huse
The last part in a dog’s lifecycle is not exempt when it comes to dog portraiture. I find the portrait of a dying dog by Sir Edwin Landseer, “A Scene at Abbotsford”, impressive. Landseer uses various symbols of death like an antler without a stag in order to provoke an intense feeling while looking at this painting. The fact that dogs mourn for their dead owners just as humans mourn for their four-legged friends, adequate mourning jewellery included in the case of the human mourners, finds expression in the Landseer painting “The Old Shepherd’s Chief Mourner.” The collie is depicted with its head resting on the coffin of his former owner, a shepherd. The very close relationship between this dog and its owner is perceptible. It is obvious that this was much more than just a work relationship. Another example of paintings referring to a dog’s death and mourning is Lucien Freud’s “Pluto’s Grave”, 2003. Freud chose to paint the gravestone of his dog’s grave as a way to deal with the death of his dog, creating an “overwhelming sense of absence.”
Rosa Bonheur, Brizo, a Sheperd’s Dog, 1864. Photo: Birgitta Huse
The exhibition Dog Portraits offers various categories through which to think about portraits of dogs. We certainly get to see a whole range of dog portraits which are impressive and usually overlooked as portraits in their own right. We learn how the complex relationship between humans and dogs is expressed in fine art. The exhibition is much more than a good prelude for a closer look at portraits of dogs, their role and meaning during centuries of companionship between humans and dogs. An interesting aspect of this is the history of preferences for certain breeds at different times.
Surprisingly, apart from Queen Victoria’s dog-related artworks there is only one other work on show which was made by a woman. It is the portrait of the dog “Brizo, a Sheperd’s Dog” which was painted by Rosa Bonheur (1822 – 1899) in 1864. I wonder how many portraits of dogs created by female artists are out there. Moreover, the explanation which accompanies Bonheur’s painting mentions the artist’s way to dress as well as her relationships with women. Why is her way to dress so important in the context of dog portraiture whereas Landseer’s clothing is not? The exhibition certainly spiked my interest in artworks showing dogs beyond the mediums of drawing, painting, and sculpture – but that would be another exhibition altogether.
“Portraits of Dogs” can be seen at The Wallace Collection until 15th October 2023.