Dogs in Art History: From Hogarth to Courbet

An article from DailyArt Magazine explores eight significant representations of dogs in Western art from the 15th to the 19th centuries. At Tate Britain, William Hogarth's 1745 self-portrait features his pug prominently, challenging 18th-century norms. The 1434 Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck, housed at the National Gallery in London, includes a dog that symbolizes loyalty amidst its other mysterious elements. Édouard Manet's King Charles Spaniel, painted around 1866 and displayed at the National Art Gallery in Washington, DC, highlights Impressionistic textures. Meanwhile, Peter Paul Rubens's Hercules' Dog Discovers Purple Dye, circa 1636 at Musée Bonnat-Helleu, Bayonne, depicts a myth about a dog and a sea snail. Other notable works include Thomas Gainsborough's 1785 Cottage Girl with Dog and Pitcher in Dublin, Rembrandt's Portrait of a Lady with a Lap Dog in Toronto, Anthony van Dyck's 1637 The Five Eldest Children of Charles I with Two Dogs, and Gustave Courbet's 1841 Self-portrait with a black dog in Paris.