OIL ON CANVAS, INSCRIBED AND DATED 1698.
A 17TH CENTURY FRENCH PORTRAIT OF A BLACK DOG NAMED AND ENSCRIBED ‘ESPION’; FRENCH FOR ‘SPY’. WEARING A BROAD INITIALED METAL COLLAR, HE STANDS ALERT IN A ROCKY LANDSCAPE BENEATH A BROODING ORANGE SKY. DEEP SHADOWS SURROUND HIS FIGURE, WHILE WARM LIGHT ALONG THE DISTANT HORIZON REVEALS HILLS AND SLENDER TREES. HIS NAME IS INSCRIBED WITHIN AN OVAL CARTOUCHE ON THE STONE WALL TO THE RIGHT
THE DARK PALETTE GIVES THE PAINTING A STRONG ATMOSPHERE, WITH CAREFULLY PLACED HIGHLIGHTS DRAWING ATTENTION TO THE DOG’S EYE, CROPPED EARS, OPEN MOUTH, AND COLLAR. HIS STANCE AND ATTENTIVE EXPRESSION GIVE A SENSE OF INDIVIDUAL CHARACTER, BALANCED BY THE FORMALITY OF THE COMPOSITION; HIS PLANTED PAWS, TURNED HEAD AND SWEEPING TAIL CONVEY BOTH SOLIDITY AND ANIMATION, AND THERE IS SOMETHING DISARMINGLY IMMEDIATE ABOUT HIS EXPRESSION WITHIN THE SOBER SETTING.
PORTRAITS OF NAMED DOGS BECAME AN ESTABLISHED PART OF EUROPEAN PAINTING DURING THE 17TH AND 18TH CENTURIES, REFLECTING BOTH THE IMPORTANCE OF HUNTING AND THE AFFECTION OWNERS HELD FOR THEIR ANIMALS. IN FRANCE, DESPORTES PAINTED THE FAVOURED DOGS OF LOUIS XIV, WHILE OUDRY CONTINUED THE TRADITION UNDER LOUIS XV. ‘ESPION’ BELONGS TO THIS BROADER TRADITION, PRESENTING THE DOG AS A SUBJECT WORTHY OF A PORTRAIT IN HIS OWN RIGHT.
THE PAINTING HAS SOME RESTORATIONS; A LINEAR CRACK TO THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE COMPOSITION HAS BEEN STABILISED, AND A RIP HAS BEEN REPAIRED IN THE TOP RIGHT HAND SIDE. THE PAINTING IS RELINED, BUT SENSITIVELY ACHIEVED.
H 97.5 CM, 38⅜" X W 127.5 CM, 50¼" : UNFRAMED
OIL ON CANVAS, INSCRIBED AND DATED 1698.
A 17TH CENTURY FRENCH PORTRAIT OF A BLACK DOG NAMED AND ENSCRIBED ‘ESPION’; FRENCH FOR ‘SPY’. WEARING A BROAD INITIALED METAL COLLAR, HE STANDS ALERT IN A ROCKY LANDSCAPE BENEATH A BROODING ORANGE SKY. DEEP SHADOWS SURROUND HIS FIGURE, WHILE WARM LIGHT ALONG THE DISTANT HORIZON REVEALS HILLS AND SLENDER TREES. HIS NAME IS INSCRIBED WITHIN AN OVAL CARTOUCHE ON THE STONE WALL TO THE RIGHT
THE DARK PALETTE GIVES THE PAINTING A STRONG ATMOSPHERE, WITH CAREFULLY PLACED HIGHLIGHTS DRAWING ATTENTION TO THE DOG’S EYE, CROPPED EARS, OPEN MOUTH, AND COLLAR. HIS STANCE AND ATTENTIVE EXPRESSION GIVE A SENSE OF INDIVIDUAL CHARACTER, BALANCED BY THE FORMALITY OF THE COMPOSITION; HIS PLANTED PAWS, TURNED HEAD AND SWEEPING TAIL CONVEY BOTH SOLIDITY AND ANIMATION, AND THERE IS SOMETHING DISARMINGLY IMMEDIATE ABOUT HIS EXPRESSION WITHIN THE SOBER SETTING.
PORTRAITS OF NAMED DOGS BECAME AN ESTABLISHED PART OF EUROPEAN PAINTING DURING THE 17TH AND 18TH CENTURIES, REFLECTING BOTH THE IMPORTANCE OF HUNTING AND THE AFFECTION OWNERS HELD FOR THEIR ANIMALS. IN FRANCE, DESPORTES PAINTED THE FAVOURED DOGS OF LOUIS XIV, WHILE OUDRY CONTINUED THE TRADITION UNDER LOUIS XV. ‘ESPION’ BELONGS TO THIS BROADER TRADITION, PRESENTING THE DOG AS A SUBJECT WORTHY OF A PORTRAIT IN HIS OWN RIGHT.
THE PAINTING HAS SOME RESTORATIONS; A LINEAR CRACK TO THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE COMPOSITION HAS BEEN STABILISED, AND A RIP HAS BEEN REPAIRED IN THE TOP RIGHT HAND SIDE. THE PAINTING IS RELINED, BUT SENSITIVELY ACHIEVED.
H 97.5 CM, 38⅜" X W 127.5 CM, 50¼" : UNFRAMED
