Jachthond 1840 - 1880

This is Johannes Tavenraat’s hunting dog, made with pen and brown ink in the Netherlands sometime in the 19th century. Tavenraat was working in a period when the Netherlands was undergoing profound social and political change, moving away from its agrarian past and towards a more industrialized, urban future. Sporting art, especially paintings and drawings of hunting dogs, was extremely popular among the upper classes. Here, the dog is not idealized, but shown in a moment of alertness, its body lean and ready. Tavenraat's choice to depict the animal in a naturalistic way may have been a subtle commentary on the changing relationship between humans and animals in a rapidly modernizing society. Was he aware that the rise of the bourgeoisie was shifting cultural tastes, or just trying to appeal to the market? By consulting historical records, we can better understand the cultural values and social structures that shaped Tavenraat's artistic choices.