the dog and the art

Prehistoria
Our ancestors, between 15,000 years 30,000 and a.C., painted or carved grotto animals like the one of Altamira or Lascaux, still he does not know or because they made these interpretations or scenes with the presence of animals, this caves, badly illuminated, humid and difficult, would make think that he was related to the magic and sorceries interpreted in these artistic manifestations, that guaranteed the prey for the future that it assured

nutritious sustenance, the animals chosen by those old artists, was all for consumption like by Ej.: horses, oxen, reindeer, red deers.
The dog appears in these scenes of hunting towards the 10,000 a. C. like protagonist and assistant in that task, which assumes that already it would be domesticated offering to the man his guard him as opposed to predators and aid in the hunting, obtaining in return refuge and food.

Egypt
The Egyptian God Anubis represented by some egiptólogos like chacal or wolf, but soon verifies themselves almost surely that it was a dog, and it is probable, that was represented by galgo Egyptian, that was not dark like the God, but presented/displayed a considerable stature, long and pointed snout, raised ears, long and agile legs, short and enroscada tail.
Is discovered it by first in time in the tomb of You, corresponding to dynasty V (around 2600 a.C.), in numerous scenes of hunting, its image painted in murals of the tomb of the Pharaoh, as worked of canine figures in objects of daily use, found in different archaeological excavations.

Greece
The most imposing dog known in Greece was a moloso, perhaps its concidiera arrival with the second Persian war (480 a.C.), since Jerjes took in its courtship robust molosos, and before this date did not exist.
Aside from the anecdotes of the historians, not always reliable, many facts verify on paintings and sculptures on terra-cotta, that numerous scenes of battles show and hunts, delineated in the delicate preciosismo that characterizes to the Greek art.
Also they are represantados in painted glasses, toys and numerous sculptures made with the great sensitivity and surprising anatomical details, that indicated an affective attention on the part of the artist towards the animal.

Rome
The Romans around century I a.C did not know very clearly the differences between the canine races, where the utility of the dog intermingled between the hunting and the guard, they looked for dogs of medium stature, more suitable for the small prey, although with smaller speed than lebreles, on the other hand they had a quite clear idea what was a guard dog, apparently was a fashion between the families of greater resources this type of animals in the home, in such a way that they integrated a special subrace: ?family dogs?. We see them represented in several mosaics, like the pompeyanos, that served to the present time like warning to the malintencionados ones with the so popular phrase: ?It digs canem? (care with the dog).

Renaissance
The average age (473-1453) was a dark period, where the fall of the Roman empire and bloody wars that preceded to their decay. One assumes that the devastated regions were crossed by all type of left dogs (it hunts, guard, fights), that had been left without master having a backward movement towards a half-wild state. As the European continent ordered these animals evolved in nondomestic form, in its majority wild, that stops to feed itself, besides to hunt, they unearthed corpses becoming rotten, is thought that these acontencimientos terrified the farmers of the time, seeing the dog like fierce horrible and dangerous, exacerbando fantasiosos and unfounded myths real. Soon with the advance of the centuries the dog returned to occupy its place as assistant in the hunting as of year 800, although the artistic legacies related to dogs were little in the average age.
In the later stage, the Renaissance, was a significant change and begin to abound the presence with dogs in paintings of the artists of this time, its popularity increased as they spent the years, thanks to the hunting, including the church vindicates them with its painting presence with religious reasons.
In this was begins to have presence the dog of companía, expressed by the talented Ticiano (to see image) where portrays to Federico II Gonzaga with the hand, tenderly, put on a small dog white, other people's to the hunting, that can be considered preceding of caniche present.
On the other hand, the Vela'zquezes and Goya (to see image), express in their paintings the preference and affection that had aristrocracia of the time by these animals, since its presence in first plane of its pictures, indicates the importance that they had in his lives to receive that honor to be present in the pictorial manifestations of these skillful artists.
In the detail of ?the tests of Moisés?, of Boticelli, engraving of the Sistine Chapel (to see image), between the group of fugitive of Egypt, in arms of a boy, is a small dog of short hair and eyes bulging, with very long nails, the experts consider a typical ?mestizo?, would not be for some, the ideal domestic dog but the length of its nails indicates that in some florentinos homes it had begun to mimar to the dogs, until the point to avoid the fatigue to them to take a walk by the streets, where the nails would have been spent.
Analogous dogs are in numerous engravings of the time, but those are not they that they impress but, maltés, that most frequently appears in pictures every time, mainly if it is pictures with ladies, where is easy to recognize it thrown on a mullida and smooth pillow.
Other works show occupied dogs in making racket and piruetas in dances and receptions freely, which confirms that a long time ago well they were received in the homes of the time.
The Renaissance sculpture does not show many dogs. Strangely in century XVI and later, when ?bronzetto? acquires a great diffusion, bronze of small dimensions, that determines the birth of a variety of animals (bulls, horses, felines, etc), the dog does not find any arranged broncista actually to work with its figure. Later, it appears Cellini where the dogs comprise in numerous works of their responsibility, most remarkable it is the modeling of a bronze bloodhound with as much detail and sharpness on the part of the artist, which it obtains a sculpture that expresses a picture of the animal, plenty of affection.
The French Jean Goujon unites in a sculpture lebrel and grifón, the dogs that were fashionable between the gentlemen of the time, since they were used for the tracking of the prey in the hunting.

Century XVII to the French Revolution
In century XVII an increase in the canine races is appraised, everything is related to the hunting, that in the aristocracy was made of three ways, with hawk, in the site and to the race. Luis XIV, the King Sun, their favorite dogs of hunting are taken by pajes in special cushions, this sovereign spent fortunes in maintaining his packs, and their cut had their own dogs of hunting, where the ambassadors of other countries were astonished before the luxury at those rites of hunting and the beauty of the dogs.
The King Sun, according to his canine preferences, orders ?to the official? painter of cut A.F. Desportes, in addition to its own figure, where the sovereign appears next to a braco and lebrel (galgo), that surely was the favorites of the king actually of the hunting. The order of ago Desportes to the first specialistic painter in dogs, this one also took care to portray in drawings spaniels of hall, thinks that they did not arrive to be portrayed in paintings, because the sovereign did not interest the dogs to him of companía, to which considered ?useless?.
Soon it appears J.B. Oudry, that received the order as well to portray to other favorites of the real packs to prepare a series of carpets. The museum of the Louvre conserves the paintings, in which Oudry reveals a resignation to its died natures, to exhibit furious dogs, in bloody combats against wolves and other animals.
Century XVIII, indicates a smoothing of the customs in France, where it appears calm dogs but like malteses and caniches.
In he himself century in England, as a result of the success obtained by the equestrian subjects and of hunting, the representations of dogs are multiplied, due to the aristocratic customs of the hunting and the consideration towards the dogs, these continue being present in the pictures.
The paintings with presence of dogs can be observed at this time in Italian, Dutch painters, German, Spaniards, where innumerable dogs appear in so many landscapes, aristocratic views of ruins, beaches with fishermen, pictures, farmers with dogs, etc.
In the scope of the great sculpture they appear lebreles or, often, very small, next to Morning calls hunting, faithfuls guardians on the feet of illustrious deceaseds, in eternal delay on a tablet indicating an unconditional fidelity.

Centuries XIX and XX
Consolidated the democracy after French Revolution, many privileges disappear, in individual the relative ones to the hunting; for the dogs, indifferent to all these novel changes, a new experience for them begins.
The artists never studied to the dogs with greater attention than in century XIX, forgotten the desaprensividad century XVIII, the dog is less and less a filling, a ?usable number? in the hunting, happens to first plane being a true protagonist in the painting. The painters, particularly, the animalist ones, deepen their art in the anatomy, the glance, the attitudes, in the customs of the dog.
Between the impresionists, Claude Monet deserves an outstanding place, although perhaps, has not represented more dogs than that blanquinegro that puts in ?the man of the parasol? (to see image), one of the most penetrating animals of all the painting. Monet does not take like model the dog of which fué proprietor, but obtains animated pictures of other canine ones.
Renoir was the artist of this time that more importance gives him to the canine ones in its pictorial works.
The following generation, Toulouse-Lautrec, after taking care of the dogs of the aristocrats, inclines to portray to the canine ones that they worked in the circuses.
Bonnard and Marquet, both recognize cinófilos and loving of the beauty of these animals and they portray them in its public works and also deprived with its families.
The animalist artists incline by unit of pedigree, since numerous canine races existed, exciting the specialists and, occasionally, other painters.
Some, as the case of Paul Gauguin, even consecrate their painting to dogs of doubtful origin, without pedigree certain, but nonexistent, getting to represent types whose racial classification becomes difficult, as in the case of ?Nature died with three puppies? (to see image).
During century XIX, the political cartoon reached great diffusion. Of his reasons it was the antropomorfización of animals, that in different cases the artists showed zoologizados human beings and, frequently, ?caninizados? to put in ridiculous situation some certain politician to whom it was wanted to attack or to show behavior attitudes.

Bibliography

Author: MV Enrique L. Fernandez De Vanna

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