Kop van een hond met de tong uit de bek 1879

Auguste Danse created this etching of a dog's head with its tongue sticking out in 1873. Danse was part of a generation of Belgian artists who gained prominence following the country's independence in 1830, and this work exemplifies the increasing interest in naturalism that was sweeping through European art academies at the time. But what does it mean to portray an animal so realistically, with all its quirks and imperfections? The rise of naturalism coincided with a broader cultural shift towards valuing empirical observation and scientific inquiry. Artists began to see themselves as objective observers of the world, and their role was to capture reality as accurately as possible. To fully understand this work, scholars consult catalogues raisonnés of Danse's prints, exhibition reviews, and publications from the art academy. The meaning of this image, like all art, is contingent on the social and institutional context in which it was created.