Friends, a bay and a St Bernard in a stable 

Carl Reichert, working in the late 19th and early 20th century, captured this intimate stable scene with oil on canvas. The painting focuses primarily on the textures of the horse's coat and the dog's fur, which is in contrast to the simple geometric forms of the green stable divider. The texture invites a close inspection. Reichert uses the formal structure of the stable to frame the faces of the two animals. This framing imbues the animals with an equal value. The St. Bernard looks off into the distance as it rests its head near the stable divider, while the horse stares out to the viewer. This subtle visual arrangement encourages the viewer to decode the relation between domesticity, nature, and the gaze. Note the striking formal contrast between the horse and dog, and the cool, dark colors of the divider. Reichert uses the contrast to engage a cultural discourse on the semiotics of animal representation and its ties to the viewer's position.