Black and White Dog, Head Turned to the Left 1794 - 1795

Jean-Baptiste Huet I made this black and white chalk drawing of a dog in France, sometime in the late 18th century. At this time, the Academy was the state-sponsored institution that determined artistic standards and styles. Huet was admitted to the Academy in 1769, but he became known for his more informal, naturalistic scenes of animals and rural life. We see here the somewhat awkward rendering of the dog, which is softened by the use of chalk. The dog has a certain domesticated, pampered quality about it. Dogs were increasingly kept as pets at this time, and they were becoming fashionable subjects for art, even among serious academic artists like Huet. To really understand this drawing, we have to consider how the status of animals was changing in French society, as well as how the institutions of art were adapting to new subjects and new audiences. Examining Huet's other works, as well as the art criticism of his time, might lead us to a better understanding of this drawing and the changing social role of art in 18th-century France.