Zittende hond 1778 - 1838

Curator: This understated work, found here at the Rijksmuseum, is entitled "Zittende hond," or "Sitting Dog." It’s an ink drawing by Anthonie van den Bos, created sometime between 1778 and 1838. Editor: It's quite delicate, isn't it? The fine lines create a sense of softness, almost like you could reach out and feel the dog's fur. There's a contemplative, even melancholy mood to it, too, captured perfectly through the downward gaze. Curator: I think what strikes me is the skill involved in rendering texture and form using solely line work. We can also appreciate the production processes. Van den Bos was probably making images of these dogs for prints intended for mass dissemination to wide audiences, even children learning their alphabet. The image becomes both a study in realism but a component of nascent industrial techniques. Editor: Yes, that attention to form is central, isn't it? The circle enclosing the subject isolates the animal, drawing all the focus to the internal construction of lines, contrasts in shading from one section of the dog's coat to another, the acute angles of the seated pose. It is contained and very much about how that form exists within a pre-determined and emphasized formal space. Curator: But there's also the social aspect to consider, the burgeoning role of pets. This realism may be more aligned to middle-class desire for detailed observation. How this imagery became a commercial component to daily life. Editor: Agreed! I would simply say that, by so carefully representing the dog, by isolating it so specifically through the structure of lines within a carefully arranged frame, the work makes the case for seeing. We begin to observe the specific details and therefore observe life outside of us in greater detail. It trains our eye. Curator: Interesting… it forces one to acknowledge the convergence of commerce and domestic portraiture and that liminality, too. I now have a much deeper sense of the production around such artwork. Editor: Absolutely! Paying attention to line, tone, and structure makes a piece speak.