Carousel Dog c. 1938

Michael Riccitelli made this Carousel Dog in watercolour. I love how this image manages to be precise and dreamy at the same time. It reminds me of the work of outsider artists who mix careful observation with flights of fancy. I can imagine Riccitelli, living between 1855 and 1995, carefully applying the watercolor washes, layering delicate strokes to capture the texture of the dog’s fur, almost stroking it as he paints. He must have been thinking about the original object - how it feels to sit on top of a wooden animal going up and down? There’s a real tenderness in the way he’s painted the decorative saddle, with its ornamental tassels. Painting is such a direct way to record something, isn’t it? Like folk art, this piece offers a genuine perspective into the artist’s world, into a shared visual culture that keeps evolving over time.