I own a pet portrait of a Irish wolfhound that I found in an antique shop.
It’s a really good pet portrait of a dog, the dog looks so happy and the artist’s style is pleasing. In the shop I turned it over. On the back is the artist’s signature and the year it was painted. That year was 1986. It suddenly occurred to me that the dog in the portrait must be dead by this point and the owner who commissioned it must be dead as well. Someone who loved their dog enough to get such a great portrait of them made wouldn’t part with it so they must have died, that’s the only reason it would be here. I was so horrified looking at this beautiful portrait of a beautiful dog.
It occurred to me all of the 19th century paintings of dogs in my favorite museums are portraits of dead dogs commissioned by dead owners. That portraiture is haunted by nature, a snapshot of a living thing that is loved and will survive long after the subject is no longer living and the person who loved them has gone.
Then I remembered my favorite Gary Larson comic.
Anyway, I bought the painting and it now hangs in my cat’s room. My cat has a room because I love her very much. I want to commission a portrait of her.
why would you assume someone who commissioned a painting in 1986 is dead now??? That’s not even 40 years ago, they might even still be in the workforce
@bagel–bytes also me referring to 19th century dog paintings in museums was referring to 19th century dog paintings in museums, like one of my favorite paintings:
Portrait of an Extraordinary Musical Dog by Philip Reinagle (1805)
It suddenly occurred to me that the adorable dog who the owners had taught to play the piano was long dead but the painting of the dog proudly using its extraordinary talent remained two centuries after it was captured.
I’m sorry for responding like this but I’ve got so many responses to this post implying I am stupid and have no concept of the passage of time. Perhaps it’s my wording of the post but I’m not implying 1986 was eons ago, just that the painting was a sentimental object I could not see the owner willingly getting rid of. Also, people can die at anytime.
Thank you for leading me to this! It is sad to think these dogs are dead but so sweet to know they were loved in their lifetime. They have their own form of immortality here with us in photograph and painting. Some of them may have been separated from their name but they have never been separated from the affection you can feel radiating through their likeness.
