Читать книгу Drawing Dogs - Roberto Fabbretti - Страница 2

Considered man’s best friend, the dog has been drawn by painters of all epochs. The interest in this animal is still alive today, and evidence of that is the privileged place in television series and commercials.

A good number of works from the past testify to its presence in the arts, such as in St. Augustine in his Study by Vittore Carpaccio. This Renaissance picture presents, at the bottom on the left, as a counterpoint to the whole scene, a seated spitz contemplating the saint.

Apparently, the illustrious Michelangelo also had a dog of this breed, and given that these two artists lived at the same time, it can be deduced that it was a fairly common breed in central and northern Italy.

The paintings of the 14th–19th centuries frequently presented greyhounds accompanying members of high society; it may be assumed that this breed was an external symbol of wealth in European courts. Anecdotes of this type help to equally establish the dissemination of other breeds in different countries and in different historical contexts.