“I am in tears, while carrying you to your last resting place as much as I rejoiced when bringing you home in my own hands fifteen years ago.”
This ancient Roman epitaph on the tomb of a beloved dog simply and perfectly shares the joy we all find in our pooches and the anguish we bear at their passing. I thought I’d be writing today about our weekend at MonsterPalooza, but we came home to find our little girl ailing. Kiita succumbed quickly and we are broken-hearted. The grief we feel makes plain how much we loved. She is all my mind can go to right now, so I thought today I would let our shared love of dogs speak through the brilliance of artists through the centuries.
Throughout human history and even in pre-history, we have honored and revered our friendships with dogs by creating imagery of our most dear companions.
Clockwise from upper left: Pre-Columbian Colima Dogs, Han Dynasty Figure of a Dog, Egyptian Anubis, Medieval “Dog Priest”
The Jennings Dog, also called The Duncombe Dog and The Dog of Alcibiades is a 2nd century AD Roman sculpture
Pierre-François-Grégoire Giraud, Un Chien
We are inspired by their joie de vivre.
Norman Rockwell showcased the love between people and dogs like few others
Lisa Reinertson: Dogs Playing, UC Medical Center Sacramento CA. I’ve always loved this idea for public artwork at a children’s hospital. Lisa said she wanted to create a respite for patients and their families and knew we all can be uplifted by watching the joy of dogs at play.
Giacomo Balla: Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash. “Like a dog with two tails” indeed!
More times than I can recall, I’ve seen people enjoying hanging out here in the dog swing in Santa Fe.
Through them, we learn the meaning of devotion.
Edwin Landseer: The Old Shepherd’s Chief Mourner
Anthony Van Dyck: James Stuart, First Duke of Richmond
Burgundian Tomb with Dog and Monks, at the Louvre
Relief sculpture of St. John of Nepomuk. This bronze devoted canine has been burnished to a golden glow by viewers giving him a pat as they pass by.
Awake, asleep, big, small- it doesn’t matter, we love them all.
And that adoration shows in our portrayals.
Thomas Gainsborough: Pomeranian Bitch and Puppy
Rembrandt Bugatti: Standing Pointer
Andrew Wyeth: Night Sleeper
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo: The Toy Spaniel of the Infanta Maria Josefa de Bourbón
Edwin Landseer: Sleeping Bloodhound
Franz Marc: The White Dog
Rosa Bonheur was able to render the soul and spirit of her charges.
William Wegman’s portraits of his Weimaraners stir the imagination
James Ward: Dash, a Favorite Spaniel
Tamara Carey: Lounging
Antoine-Louis Barye: A Pointer Pointing a Pheasant
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: Follette
Robert Bateman: Screened Porch
Gerrit Dou: Dog at Rest
Even Gods and Goddesses have their devoted canine companions.
Jean-Louis Lemoyne, A Companion of Diana
Gian Lorenzo Bernini: The Rape of Proserpina with Cerberus, the “Hound of Hades,” Pluto’s three-headed dog
Kunst & Ambiente Bronze Sculpture Diana and Hound
Friends to the end through our sorrows and joys, they are always by our side.
Charles Burton Barber: A Special Pleader
Frank Cadogan Cowper: Mariana in the South
Charles Wellington Furse: Diana of the Uplands
John Singer Sargent:Miss Beatrice Townsend
Diego Velázquez: Cardinal-Infante Don Fernando of Austria
Anders Zorn-Virginia P. Bacon
William Hogarth: The Painter and His Pug
They make us laugh (speaking of pugs)
Mark Newman’s love for his pugs is legendary (as are his pug sculptures!)
Jean-Honoré Fragonard
Roman Sculpture of Greyhounds
Giuseppe Castiglione: Jinchixian, a Chinese Greyhound
Jacque-Laurent Agasse: Black Water Dog with a Stick by a Lake
No matter what, they always steal the show.
Alex Colville: Woman and Terrier
Erte: Borzoi
Pieter de Hooch: Man Handing a Letter to a Woman
Seeing ourselves through their eyes, we never looked better.
Pavel Patrenko: The Prince Imperial with His Dog Nero
Lucian Freud: Guy with Speck
Jean-Léon Gérôme: Diogenes
So as we say a sad farewell to our Kiita, here’s a small glimpse into the joys and adventures we shared with her.
She was, of course, an accomplished artist’s model – her first gig was sitting for our “Hot Diggety Dog”
She refined her natural talent for design and redecorating throughout her life… “Who, me? I didn’t even notice you went and left me here all alone.”
She made us laugh. She shared our tears. She inspired our art and loved beyond her years.
Dogs help us to love and be loved, to find the joy in the simple things and to become better beings by their example. Art helps us to share our humanity, our greatest loves and losses – those things that are near impossible to put into words for us visual folks. Letting ourselves plumb the great depths of the whole spectrum of feelings can only help us create art that speaks with more wisdom and understanding.
We know that the breaks we feel in our hearts right now are just expansion gaps so more love can come in later on, but it hurts and it’s hard. I hope that all of you have the opportunity in life to love freely, whole-heartedly, without fearing the end, as dogs do. It is a beautiful thing. And for those whose adored fur babies have passed on, I hope that they are somewhere out there in another place waiting to show Kiita the very best trails, where they can run together with abandon, as only dogs can.
My sincere and deepest condolences for Kiita’s passing. I know how deep your grief feels at this time. Shakti, my little cat and constant companion who adopted me a dozen years ago, passed last week. I keep catching her absence in the corner of my eye, in all the places she would have been. All of her favorite spots, now empty. She was funny and friendly and beloved by family and friends. She seemed to think visitors were mobile furniture, delivering laps. She had a chair at my studio desk and a drawer in my rolltop. I will always remember the amazement and joy that little black cat brought to my life, as I am sure Kiita will continue to inspire both of you and Love on in your hearts. You gave her an excellent life.
Hi Thomas,
Thank you so very much for your understanding words. You also have my most heartfelt sympathies at the passing of your beautiful Shakti. Sharing some of the things you treasured about her let me step for a few moments into another world of love and it was beautiful. I wrote about dogs, but certainly cats and other animal friends inhabit our hearts as fully and devotedly. A heart once expanded by love never returns to its previous limits.
I understand what you say about “catching her absence” in the simplest things, like today, out of habit going to pick out a new toy when out doing errands because Kiits so loved new toys – that moment of lightness of spirit being followed by the unbearable missing her (today the young woman bagging in the grocery store said I looked like I badly needed a hug and she gave me the very kindest one). I find myself touched by the kindness of strangers, making the most ordinary of circumstances extraordinary.
I try to dwell in the joy and memories we shared, but as you know, some days it’s just really hard. It’s a curious thing how love and loss can lead the mind down into a deep spiral. I am grateful for your sharing of your story as it helps to know that the feelings we have right now are understood and heard with compassion and gentleness.
Wishing you peace and all the love your beautiful memories of Shakti can bring.
What a prominent article! Please, accept my deepest condolences. All the dogs get directly to heaven when they make their last breath. I have no doubt about it.
Hi Valerii,
Thank you for your compassionate comment. I like the thought that dogs get an express ticket to a beautiful place – they most certainly deserve it. What extraordinary beings and what a gift it is to get to share a bit of our lives with them.
My deepest condolences and empathy, Kristine. It’s not surprising to me that you create such adept and moving art as you have a soul that loves animals and nature. A few years ago in December I lost one of my dearest friends–a loyal, big-hearted, gentle 180 lb giant, and extremely intelligent oberhassli goat named Lucky Button. My hands still haven’t forgotten the ridges of his huge horns and that soft patch I used to rub on his forehead star between them. One of my reasons for believing in a Merciful God with a beautiful heaven is that surely many a noble hound, steed, hoofer, etc belongs there more than many of us humans. Surely Kiita is there redesigning more pillows and rugs. I’ve bookmarked this post, a rare thing for me–I’ve seen many of these pet paintings before, and many are new, and all of them such moving elegies in portrait form. wishing you all good things, hajra
Hello Hajra,
Thank you so very much for sharing your story about Lucky Button. What you said about your hands remembering the feel of his horns and the soft patch of fur was so beautiful and expressive – it brought back memories of playing with the goats on my uncle’s farm as a child. I am saddened and sorry to hear of your loss – you have our sympathies. Goats are remarkable beings and to have shared your life with one surely must have brought great joy. My hands also remember the feeling of the funny cowlick on the back of Kiita’s neck. When she’d come poke her nose in my face at night, I’d reach out and caress that little bit of fur and know it was her. I agree that animals belong in any heavenly realm there might be – and what a comfort to imagine them running freely once again. Your empathy for our loss touches my heart. Thank you for sharing such compassion and understanding. K
This is awesome! Thanks for the share.
Thanks so much for spending a few minutes loving on art and our furry friends with me! 🙂