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Barking Successes

Stories about art’s pets

From July 23rd to October 27th, 2024

Léon Bonvin
*Chien assis, de dos, tourné vers la gauche, près d'un tronc d'arbre*, 1875
Collection Musée d'Orsay - Département des Arts Graphiques du musée du Louvre, Paris
Mode d'acquisition inconnu, s.d.
© RMN-Grand Palais (Musée d’Orsay) / Michel Urtado
See the notice of the artwork

Among the subjects explored by 19th-century artists, dogs deserve special attention, not for their aesthetic value but due to the many roles they play.

In numerous works from the period in question dogs transcend their status
as simple animals and become key characters in visual narration, reflecting the ongoing changes in society. Dogs in 19^th-century artworks symbolize a wide range of emotions and themes, from loyalty and domesticity to lasciviousness and exoticism. The works selected illustrate and examine the unbreakable bonds between human beings, dogs and art.