FRAGMENT.
(From Raphael’s frescoes
in the Loggia of the Vatican.)
In our own time, two artists, more than all others, have been famous for their delineation of animal life; and both of these artists, one is glad to know, were genuinely fond of the creatures they painted. These two are, of course, Sir Edwin Landseer and Mlle. Rosa Bonheur.
HENS AND CHICKENS.
(From Raphael’s frescoes in the
Loggia of the Vatican.)
Landseer studied every animal he saw, but preferred dogs, horses, and deer, especially dogs. Fuseli, his master, used to speak of him as “my little dog-boy.” Pet after pet had its features transferred to canvas, and fine dogs were brought to him to be painted, exactly as their owners might go to Millais or Watts. They became in his hands something more than canine types; he saw in them individuals with characters and stories of their own. There is the Dog in High Life, and the Dog in Low Life; the tranquil big dog as Dignity, the impetuous little dog as Impudence.
TWO OF GOTTFRIED MIND’S CATS.
(Plate II. from “Der Katzen-Raphael.” )