![]() The first documented publications call the painting A Deerhound and date it 1826 (see Dafforne 1875, Monkhouse, and Monkhouse ). The Subject: The subject has been identified as various types of dog. ![]() 2), which may be that of Georgiana, Duchess of Bedford (1781–1853), sister of the Duke of Gordon, who was one of Landseer’s most loyal patrons and possibly also his mistress. An infrared reflectogram of A Deerhound reveals, beneath the paint, a drawing of a woman’s head (fig. This monumental canvas, made near the outset of Landseer’s engagement with the Scottish Highlands, was one of his first aristocratic hunting portraits, and a milestone in his rise to prominence. The same dog appears, nuzzling under the hand of its master, George Gordon, 5th Duke of Gordon (1770–1836), in Scene in the Highlands, with Portraits of the Duchess of Bedford, the Duke of Gordon and Lord Alexander Russell (see fig. The present example is unusual in that it can be directly connected to a more ambitious composition. The picture may be classed among the small oils on board which served the artist as a means to explore his subjects and hone his technique. Landseer depicted the dog with great sensitivity, using delicate brushstrokes, while treating the background landscape more freely. The Painting: This painting depicts a deerhound, which were bred to hunt deer by running them down, a method known as coursing or deer stalking. His best paintings present the Highlands, and especially its pastime of deer hunting, as a paradigm of primal qualities: wild splendor juxtaposed with violent death. Landseer, a perennial visitor to the Highlands since 1824, was among the first painters to carry forward this Romantic vision in his art. Many of Landseer’s works are set in the Scottish Highlands, a rugged region in northwest Scotland that was immortalized in the nineteenth-century imagination as a place of untamed natural beauty and rustic tradition, most prominently in the novels of Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832). His popular appeal owed much to his charmingly sympathetic portrayals of beloved pets, but his ambition is most evident in his images of wild animals, which possess a vitality and emotional drama that epitomize his era’s attunement to the natural world. Landseer’s paintings were esteemed by the artistic establishment and noble patrons, including Queen Victoria herself. He invigorated this cherished British artistic tradition with a brilliantly naturalistic style, borne of his prodigious technical skill, honed through rigorous observation, and intensified and elevated by the study of exemplars such as Peter Paul Rubens (see The Met 1990.75) and Frans Snyders (The Met 2001.112). ' Portraits of Dogs: From Gainsborough to Hockney' is showing at The Wallace Collection until 15th October 2023.The Artist: Landseer earned success as a painter of animal subjects, most notably dogs and deer, with a specialty in hunting scenes. However, it also seeks to show how all dog portraits have one thing in common, and that is their desire to celebrate the distinct relationship we have with our four-legged companions, along with those things that endear them to us – their intelligence and independence of spirit.Īlexander Collins, Assistant Curator of 'Portraits of Dogs: From Gainsborough to Hockney' at The Wallace Collection ![]() The Wallace Collection's exhibition looks to reveal its diversity and versatility – how it can do everything from conveying moral imagery to praising the athletic prowess of a working dog. Abandoned by human mourners, the dog remains a faithful companion – a touching parallel to the famous Greyfriars Bobby.Ĭanine portraiture, just like the dogs it depicts, comes in all shapes and sizes. In a deeply moving scene, the dog rests its heavy head on the coffin of its master, as if contemplating the thought of life alone. Landseer, again turning his expert hand to conveying emotion through dog allegory, has skilfully translated the human process of grieving to a collie in his 1837 work The Old Shepherd's Chief Mourner, which is in the collection of the V&A. The close bonds we form with dogs in life mean that, following their deaths, we often experience overwhelming feelings of loss. Edwin Henry Landseer (1802–1873) Paintings Collection
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |