Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 8

Italian school, sec. XVIII, Portrait of a small dog

$6,589.79
£4,904.76
€5,500
CA$9,026.36
A$10,039.29
CHF 5,242.20
MX$122,167.45
NOK 66,950.95
SEK 62,788.18
DKK 41,869.58
Shipping
Retrieving quote...
The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation

About the Item

Italian school, sec. C18th Portrait of a small dog Oil on canvas, 48 x 40 cm Picture frame, 58 x 48 cm This canvas depicts with extreme precision and attention to detail a small dog, which, with some differences also due to the evolution of the species over the centuries, should be identified with the ancient pug dog breed. Originating in China and imported to Europe beginning in the seventeenth century, these little beasts were from the very beginning regarded as excellent pets for noble or upper-middle-class families; the small size, the peculiarity of the breed and its exotic nature meant that pugs spread very quickly, even beginning to appear in works of art. In addition to inspiring friendship, affection and loyalty, conveyed by the dogs depicted in works of art even in the past, the pug could also represent a kind of symbol, a rich accessory for the noble ladies of high society, who were therefore well disposed to show off their pet in the privacy of their living rooms. In this case the dog becomes the absolute protagonist, unaccompanied by either human figures or other background elements: the pug stands out against a dark background while a light from the left casts its shadow on the plane bordered by a curved edge. The short, cream-colored fur, darker on the back and lighter on the abdomen, the curled tail, and the small black ears cropped, as was the custom before the 1800s, are typical of the species, as are the glassy, dimensionally disproportionate eyes compared to the short, rather flattened muzzle. The figure stands out with three-dimensionality and volume against the background, the chiaroscuros are softened, despite the bright cut, by an iridescent coloring of the hair achieved with uniformity and thicker brushstrokes in some places and with lenticular care of each individual tuft in others. The animalistic painting in which the work falls was most established in the Netherlands and, especially in England, but contacts both artistic and cultural thickened during the eighteenth century and brought this genre to Italy as well, the place where the canvas was painted and where the pug also began to spread among the upper classes, as evidenced by the one portrayed by Giuseppe Maria Crespi together with his mistress; other testimonies come from artists from all over Europe demonstrating the internationality of the phenomenon: the examples of Goya, Boucher and Hogarth are just a few of the many that could be cited.
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 15.75 in (40 cm)Width: 18.9 in (48 cm)Depth: 1.58 in (4 cm)
  • Style:
    Other (Of the Period)
  • Materials and Techniques:
    Canvas,Oiled
  • Place of Origin:
    Italy
  • Period:
    18th Century and Earlier
  • Date of Manufacture:
    18th 18th Century
  • Condition:
    Wear consistent with age and use.
  • Seller Location:
    Milan, IT
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU5918245470722

More From This Seller

View All
Roman school, second half of the 17th century, Composition with lemons and small dog
Located in Milan, IT
Roman school, second half of the 17th century Composition with lemons and small dog Oil on canvas, 97.5 x 74.5 cm Framed, 120 x 95 cm The work we describe here can be framed in t...
Category

Antique 18th Century and Earlier Italian Other Paintings

Materials

Canvas

Roman school, second half of the 17th century, Composition with lemons and small dog

Roman school, second half of the 17th century, Composition with lemons and small dog

$6,589
Venetian school, 18th century, Portrait of a gentlewoman with fan
Located in Milan, IT
Venetian school, 18th century Portrait of a gentlewoman with a fan Oil on canvas, 79 x 60 cm Framed, 92 x 74 cm The oil on canvas under consideration, to be referred to the Venet...
Category

Antique 18th Century and Earlier Italian Other Paintings

Materials

Canvas

Venetian school, 18th century, Portrait of a gentlewoman with fan

Venetian school, 18th century, Portrait of a gentlewoman with fan

$5,511
18th century, Portrait of Karl Josef of Habsburg-Lorraine
Located in Milan, IT
18th 18th Century Portrait of Karl Josef of Habsburg-Lorraine oil on canvas, 29x23 cm Framed, 47x37 cm The retractor can be identified as Karl Josef of Habsburg-Lorraine, son of ...
Category

Antique 18th Century and Earlier Austrian Other Paintings

Materials

Canvas

18th century, Portrait of Karl Josef of Habsburg-Lorraine

18th century, Portrait of Karl Josef of Habsburg-Lorraine

$3,474
17th century, Lombard School, Portrait of a swordsman in profile
Located in Milan, IT
17th century, Lombard School Portrait of swordsman in profile Oil on canvas, 116 x 92 cm We are confronted with an intriguing 17th-century painting, traceable to the Lombard sc...
Category

Antique 18th Century and Earlier Italian Other Paintings

Materials

Canvas

17th century, Lombard School, Portrait of a swordsman in profile

17th century, Lombard School, Portrait of a swordsman in profile

$4,073
Central Italian school, second half of the 16th century, Oration in the Garden
Located in Milan, IT
Central Italian school, second half of the 16th century Oration in the Garden of Gethsemane Oil on canvas, 80.5 x 65.5 cm Christ's prayer in the Garden/Bush of Gethsemane, located...
Category

Antique 18th Century and Earlier Italian Other Paintings

Materials

Canvas

Central Italian school, second half of the 16th century, Oration in the Garden

Central Italian school, second half of the 16th century, Oration in the Garden

$4,505
18th-19th century, French school, the soap bubbles
Located in Milan, IT
French school, 18th-19th century The soap bubbles Oil on panel, 44.5 x 36.5 cm Framed, 60 x 54 cm In this French school painting, with its leery and playful tone, but mother lovi...
Category

Antique 19th Century Other Paintings

Materials

Canvas

18th-19th century, French school, the soap bubbles

18th-19th century, French school, the soap bubbles

$4,792

You May Also Like

17th C Neapolitan School Painting Oil Canvas Old Master Mola Giovanni Battista
By Molla
Located in West Hollywood, CA
17th C Neapolitan School Painting Oil Canvas Old Master Mola Giovanni Battista . Circa 1600’s important Painting Oil on Canvas painting of a boy with a bird, in original Hand carved...
Category

Antique 17th Century Italian Renaissance Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Plaster, Wood, Giltwood

17th C Neapolitan School Painting Oil Canvas Old Master Mola Giovanni Battista

17th C Neapolitan School Painting Oil Canvas Old Master Mola Giovanni Battista

$36,000
Cassioli Amos, La Rivale Painting
Located in Montelabbate, PU
Amos Cassioli, painting on canvas La Rivale, Romanticism movement, 19th century. Packaging with bubble wrap and cardboard boxes is included. If the wooden packaging is needed (fumig...
Category

Antique 1890s Romantic Paintings

Materials

Canvas

Cassioli Amos, La Rivale Painting

Cassioli Amos, La Rivale Painting

$17,972
Dipinto Cirinna, Raffigurazione Di Fanciulla, Vintage, Firmato, Inizi xx S
Located in Milano, MI
dipinto cirinna - raffigurazione di fanciulla - vintage - firmato - inizi xx s Descrizione : raffigurazione di fanciulla dormiente Origini : Italia Periodo di produzion...
Category

20th Century Italian Paintings

Materials

Canvas

Dipinto Cirinna, Raffigurazione Di Fanciulla, Vintage, Firmato, Inizi xx S

Dipinto Cirinna, Raffigurazione Di Fanciulla, Vintage, Firmato, Inizi xx S

$449
18th Century Italian School "Sybile" Signed
Located in Madrid, ES
18th Century Italian School "Sybile" H.s.t. bears a signature, oil on canvas 37cm x 30cm good condition
Category

Antique 18th Century Italian Baroque Paintings

Materials

Paint

18th Century Italian School "Sybile" Signed

18th Century Italian School "Sybile" Signed

$2,276
Italian School; Saint Barbara, 18th century, oil on canvas
Located in Brescia, IT
Description Santa Barbara Oil on canvas cm 93x71 The painting depicts St. Barbara, a highly revered Christian saint, especially as the patron saint of miners, gunners and firefighte...
Category

Antique 18th Century Italian Louis XV Paintings

Materials

Canvas

Italian School; Saint Barbara, 18th century, oil on canvas

Italian School; Saint Barbara, 18th century, oil on canvas

$3,594 / set
George Etheridge oil on canvas 19th Century
Located in Madrid, ES
George Etheridge oil on canvas. It is an oil on canvas by the artist: George Etheridge. There is a work of his on display at: Cyfarthfa Castle Museum & Art Gallery. Total measureme...
Category

Antique 19th Century Spanish Baroque Paintings

Materials

Paint

George Etheridge oil on canvas 19th Century

George Etheridge oil on canvas 19th Century

$1,198