The Housebook Master Middle Rhenish, active c. 1465/1500 Dog Scratching Himself, c. 1475 drypoint Rijksprentenkabinet, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Dog Scratching Himself

An eminent art historian once characterized the Housebook Master as an artist "who could share the raptures of a dog scratching himself...[and] reexperience the blissful trance of a creature who, however humble, is man's brother in God." We are able to empathize with the dog because the Housebook Master so carefully studied and depicted the creature's anatomy that each muscle and tendon clearly conveys the rapture the dog is experiencing.

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