Honden 1903 - 1919

This is ‘Honden’ by Arie Willem Segboer. I can only imagine the artist surrounded by dogs, maybe even a cat. The work consists of a set of little scenes, all these dogs caught in these different scenarios. It’s like each one is living in their own little world. Look at the furry texture of the dog at the center. You can almost feel the softness of the dog's coat. There's a lot of attention to light and shadow, which gives the images depth. I am immediately reminded of the work of Henriëtte Ronner-Knip, the nineteenth-century Dutch painter known for her depictions of cats and dogs. What do you think Segboer was thinking when he chose to depict these dogs? Were they portraits of specific animals, or just representative of the canine condition? These artists are like they're all in a conversation, bouncing ideas off each other, inspiring new ways of seeing and feeling the world.