Zittende hond 1873 - 1932

Wilhelmus Johannes Steenhoff made this pencil drawing of a seated dog, now in the Rijksmuseum. Steenhoff was the director of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Amsterdam for many years, an institution dedicated to applied arts and design. This drawing offers an insight into the creative processes and institutional agendas that shaped artistic tastes in the Netherlands. The artist’s choice of subject matter is interesting. Dogs have often been seen as symbols of loyalty and domesticity, reflecting middle-class values. The collar and posture of the dog also suggest themes around the relationship between humans and animals, ideas of companionship and control. To understand Steenhoff's work better, we might look at the cultural history of pets in the Netherlands, exploring visual culture through family portraits and the development of animal rights movements. We can see that the meaning of the drawing is contingent on social and institutional contexts.