Zittende hond 1778 - 1838

Curator: Anthonie van den Bos created this piece, "Zittende hond", sometime between 1778 and 1838. It's a pen and ink drawing currently housed in the Rijksmuseum. Editor: There's a quiet intensity in this little guy. He looks very proper sitting within that delicate oval. Curator: Absolutely. Let's think about the drawing itself. It’s a study in capturing texture with minimal means. The ink work suggests fur, form. What kind of paper and inks do you imagine someone uses in the 18th and early 19th centuries for sketches like this? And how accessible are those tools at that moment in time? Editor: Paper and ink are such simple tools, yet so expressive! I like that he uses the texture so confidently. Is the dog a portrait? Curator: That's a compelling question. Genre is sometimes unstable. If you examine his stance and his slightly melancholic face, I mean maybe it represents more than just any dog. There's an argument to be made it signifies the status and perhaps even character, of his master, depending on the time and its conventions. We should think about pets during this period: how much labor did people pour into pets, when daily laboring and care were also crucial. What level of disposable income did the person who made, or asked for this drawing have access to. Editor: You've piqued my interest! Is the pose itself significant? There is a gentleness. There's a hint of loneliness, if I'm honest. Perhaps he's waiting patiently, watching for his owner. Or could he just be…well, sitting? Waiting? I’m projecting. Curator: That projection, as you call it, opens a door into how we, as modern viewers, interpret class, status, companionship through a very deliberate cultural history and artistic convention. Even though he's a dog, his quiet, refined bearing reflects, maybe amplifies, the emotional nuances of the world around him, made with readily available materials that had been transformed and refined. Editor: I suppose the simple act of portraying a "pet," elevates the subject, but maybe also humanizes both of them. Well, thank you for this. I can't unsee all those subtle cultural commentaries that you mentioned. I have to find myself a nice dog of my own now! Curator: Exactly. It invites us to meditate not only on artistic process, materiality but also on the historical, social conditions that imbue everyday images with a certain resonance. It's just a little dog, rendered economically, yet loaded with social cues.