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Images of dogs and dog-like animals were found in cave paintings in Spain that date back 1200 years.
Egyptian wall paintings and hieroglyphics produced some 6,600 years ago depict distinctive breeds of dogs.
Early dog paintings generally portrayed dogs in the context of hunting scenes. Indian Mughal emperors in the
1500s used hounds to hunt antelopes and beautifully detailed paintings of dogs in full chase are often
found in Indian art.
During the Italian Renaissance (1400s-1700s), detailed portraits of dogs appeared in mythological, allegorical,
and religious art throughout Europe, usually as adjuncts to the main subject. Leonardo da Vinci produced detailed
anatomical drawings of the dog, scientist in nature and beautiful in form. In Spain, painter Diego Velasquez
(1599-1660) often depicted dogs in his famous portraits of children. By the 17th Century, Italian paintings
portrayed dogs frequently even as the central figures of a domestic scene, both rural and urban.
In early 18th Century Europe the English aristocracy bred dogs for hunting fox and other game and dogs as subjects
of paintings and illustrations gained a popularity that continues until today. The British are still especially
fond of dog paintings, as they are great dog breeders and fanciers.
A dog painting in Modern Art was more likely to depict the dog as surrealistic creatures, personified as grotesque
humans, or as Cubist cutouts, but as time went on in the US the Naturalist painters returned to realistic hunting
scenes in their dog paintings.
Twentieth century artists, from caricaturist Roy Lichtenstein to emotionally detached Pop artist Andy Warhol,
have used the dog as a vehicle through which to portray personal feelings.
The dog as hunter, worker, or beloved pet and animal companion to human beings, will no doubt continue to
be a popular subject in the continuing history of art.
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