Liggende hond 1818 - 1876

Curator: Here we have Carel Christiaan Antony Last’s "Liggende Hond," which roughly translates to "Reclining Dog," created sometime between 1818 and 1876. It's currently held here at the Rijksmuseum. It’s a pencil drawing on paper featuring studies of a dog in various resting positions. My first thought is a profound sense of domestic tranquility, the peace and simplicity in rendering a common animal. The compositions use layered pencil lines that feel remarkably sensitive. Editor: I notice how the rendering highlights our shifting relationship with the domestic canine – from working animal to beloved member of bourgeois families. This dog is elevated, but also clearly positioned in a subservient, relaxing posture, right? It’s a statement about power, dependence, and changing social roles in 19th-century Dutch society. Curator: Yes, I agree with that interpretation. Considering Last’s process—pencil on paper, a readily available medium at the time—highlights both accessibility and artistic intention. By using common materials, Last blurs the lines between academic art and everyday observation. We must ask ourselves, did that choice democratize art, bringing these images and his skills to a potentially wider audience? Editor: Perhaps, and it certainly opens questions about the role of domesticity and nature being harnessed for power dynamics within burgeoning colonial structures. Dogs were not merely pets; they could symbolize status, loyalty to family, and the civilizing effects of colonial powers extending into global exploitation during the time this drawing was made. Curator: The materiality also reinforces that Last created multiples of resting canines. It certainly reveals the iterative nature of artistic study but is also a type of image readily reproduceable. As you observe, our understanding of pet ownership is intrinsically connected to class and social control; how very different its reality is around the world even today. Editor: Precisely! We tend to imbue our domestic pets with innocence; Last’s image prompts us to scrutinize this constructed relationship. Perhaps by observing this small act, viewers might better comprehend the power structures woven into their daily existence and the far-reaching reach of that privilege. Curator: A rather profound meditation on domesticity sparked from some delicate pencil lines! Editor: Indeed, revealing uncomfortable questions from what might seem at first glance, so peaceful a portrait of a dog resting.