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Van
Dyck
Have
you ever walked through a museum and noticed that many
portraits include four-legged side kicks?ÊÊ From prehistoric
rock art to royal Renaissance portraiture, dogs and
humans in art are a combination that will endure for
as long as the species survive.Ê The trend was especially
popular in the 17th and 18th centuries.Ê In fact, one
of the portraits in the Hammond-Harwood House shows
an elegant lady holding a petite spaniel--probably a
King Charles Spaniel. This portrait was painted around
1720 and is attributed to R. Dellor, an artist from
the Kneller school.Ê The image depicts Margaret Frances
Townley Chase, a grandmother of one of the owners of
the Hammond-Harwood House.Ê Why was Mrs. Chase pictured
holding her toy companion?Ê The presence of the dog
obviously points to her love for the animal.Ê According
to one 16th century source, such small dogs"were chiefly
sought after for the amusement and pleasure of women.Ê
The smaller the kind the more pleasing it is, so that
they may carry them in their bosoms, in their, beds,
and in their arms, and in their carriages.Ê [These]
kinds of dogs are altogether useless for any other purposes,
except that they ease the pain of the stomach, being
often applied to it, or frequently born of the bosom
of the diseased person, by the moderation of their vital
heat."Lap dogs, like the tiny spaniels, also served
the practical function of keeping fleas at bay--at least
while the dog was present fleas were more interested
in it than in their human hosts.Ê In an age when the
plague was a constant threat, dogs were life savers.Ê
Still, it was believed that dogs"with no practical
function"were the ultimate expressions of luxury and
affluence.Ê
Is
there anything else that the presence of these pets
tell us?Ê With an unbreakable bond to his master, a
dog frequently symbolized loyalty.Ê Thus, the dog sitting
in Mrs. Chase's lap reasserts her loyalty to her husband.Ê
Indeed, the griffin terrier pictured in the famous van
Eyck marriage portrait the Arnolfini WeddingÊ seems
to embody the couple's undying affection and fidelity
to each other.Ê (Although some scholars argue that the
dog in this image represents carnal desire). If a dog
were featured with a widow, that dog might represent
the widow's loyalty to her husband's memory.Ê In the
same sense, Kings and Princes were often pictured with
large, powerful dogs as conspicuous symbols of their
own strength and vitality.Ê In Sir Anthony van Dyck's
image of the Children of Charles I, a giant mastiff
yields to the future King of England.Ê |
