Provenance

Louis XV, King of France

France, Louis XV, King of

French, 1710 - 1774

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Two dogs, one with short white hair to our left and one with longer black hair to our right, stand in front of the base of a pair of columns set in a landscape in this horizontal painting. Both dogs stand with their heads to our left. The short-haired grayhound to our left leaps or is shown midstride with its front paws off the ground as it turns to look behind it, to our right. It has cream-colored fur with tawny brown spots near the base of its thin tail and covering its right eye and ear. The dog has a long, pointed snout, and its ribs show a little through its thin frame. To our right, the furry black dog has long ears, a short tail, and small white spots on its chest and lower lip. It stands planted on all four feet, looking at the grayhound with brown eyes. The tails of both dogs are raised as if in play. The caramel-brown, stone column base behind the grayhound is chipped and cracked in a few places, but supports a pair of columns that rise off the top edge of the canvas. The landscape beyond the dogs is painted with muted moss-green trees and a pale blue sky. A plant, possibly a marigold, grows from the scrubby green ground under the white dog. Names are written with capital, shiny gold letters under each dog. The name “MISSE” is written against a rock in the lower left corner and “LVTTINE” under the black dog. The artist signed and dated the work as if written on the face of the column base: “J.B, Oudry 1729.”
Jean-Baptiste Oudry, Misse and Luttine, 1729, oil on canvas, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Victor Thaw, in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art, 1994.53.1

Misse and Luttine

Jean-Baptiste Oudry · 1729 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1994.53.1