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Watchdogs
Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps, 1829

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Watchdogs

Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps (1803 - 1860), c. 1829

oil on canvas, 98 cm x 130.5 cm
The Mesdag Collection, The Hague


The watchdogs in this monumental painting are almost life size. It is as though they are right in front of you. Decamps rendered the animals in great detail. Notice their bristly coats, and the white dog’s panting mouth. They seem so close by because the farm in the background is small and sketchily depicted.

Mesdag already owned two paintings by Decamps when he bought this animal portrait in 1888. He hung it on the second floor of his recently opened museum.

See also:

  • painting
  • animal art
  • Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps

Object number
hwm0110
Credits
The Mesdag Collection, The Hague
Dimensions
98cm x 130.5cm, 141cm x 170cm, 20cm