Staande hond by Jacob Toorenvliet

Staande hond 1650 - 1719

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drawing, pencil

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drawing

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baroque

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dutch-golden-age

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pencil sketch

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pencil drawing

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pencil

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genre-painting

Dimensions: height 86 mm, width 108 mm

Copyright: Rijks Museum: Open Domain

Editor: So, this drawing, “Standing Dog” by Jacob Toorenvliet, likely from the late 17th or early 18th century. It's a fairly simple pencil sketch, but I'm curious about what might make this image stand out. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Immediately, the collar catches my eye. It’s a symbol of domestication, of course, but it also hints at the evolving relationship between humans and animals during that era. Consider the rise of genre painting, portraying everyday scenes; animals weren't just beasts of burden but were increasingly seen as companions. What feelings does that contrast between wildness and domesticity evoke for you? Editor: That's interesting, the collar hadn’t struck me as something so... loaded. I was mainly just looking at it as an element within the drawing, showing the dog maybe belonged to someone. Curator: Exactly, belonging. Think about the deeper cultural meanings: loyalty, service, protection. Dogs have historically been symbols of fidelity and vigilance. Toorenvliet places this image within the rise of civic identity in the Dutch Golden Age. What purpose do you imagine an image of a dog like this would serve, beyond just documenting its likeness? Editor: I guess it shows wealth or status, and how connected humans were getting with the natural world in a controlled kind of way? But more than that, the image reminds me that, then as now, animals help us work out who we are. Curator: Precisely. It holds the visual weight of shifting social values. Something as simple as a drawing of a dog is an invitation to unpack entire cultural frameworks. A symbol is a portal. Editor: It makes me look at animal paintings very differently. Thanks for the insight!

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