The History of Pet Portraits

It is currently commonplace to take photos of and with your pets. We even take photos with our friends’ pets, our family member’s pets…basically any cute animals that we encounter. It is also common to display photos of your pets in your home or share them on your social media accounts. However, the admiration of pets and domestic animals dates back farther than you may think.

The oldest paintings of animals discovered, so far, are around 19,000 years old. These paintings were found in caves in Lascaux, Southern France, and showcase animals in almost 600 different pieces of work. While these paintings do not depict the animals as being domestic or as pets, these are the oldest paintings of animals in general, demonstrating them as a topic of interest to their human counterparts The earliest artwork featuring domesticated animals come from Babylonia about 5,500 years ago, in 3500 BC. The paintings discovered are of goats and horses that appear to belong to humans who are also shown in the paintings.

Domestic cats made their appearance in artwork a few hundred years later in the Ancient Egyptian era, where they were kept as pets by royalty. Only the Pharaoh could own a cat; however, the Egyptian people were very fond of the species and they were depicted in a large number of Egyptian works of art.

Around 800 BC, Greeks demonstrated their fondness for dogs. There are thousands of sculptures, mosaics, pieces of pottery, and other works of art featuring dogs who appear to be domesticated. Dogs were also featured in numerous works of art from the Roman Empire, around this same time period, and it is believed that the Romans were the first to begin actually caring for their dogs instead of expecting them to fend for themselves.

In the Middle Ages, dogs were mainly used as hunting aids, though some noblewomen did have dogs as companion pets, as seen in art from that era.

During the Renaissance period, royalty and upper-classmen frequently had their portraits made. Many of these portraits include a dog at their side or on their lap. It seems that at this time it became more common to have a dog as a companion, and especially more common to document that relationship through art.

In the 1700s, cats were frequently seen inf Asian artwork, as shown by the works of Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Indian artists.

1720. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

In the Victorian Era, portraits of pets, and pets with their owners became more like what we see today, as they were taken with a camera. Photos were taken on rare and special occasions in this era, due to the fact that they had to be taken in studios. The fact that pets were a common theme in these photos demonstrates their popularity and that people considered them to be a part of their family.

Our modern practice of posing for photos with companion animals dates back hundreds of years! Creating and displaying art with an image of your pet or an animal that you admire is also no new hobby. It is fascinating to see how people have shown their admiration for animals over the years and through including them in artwork and photographs that will preserve their legacy.

Sources: The Dodo, The Great Cat, Google Arts and Culture, My Modern Met, National Gallery of Canada, Portrait Pets

It is currently commonplace to take photos of and with your pets. We even take photos with our friends’ pets, our family member’s pets…basically any cute animals that we encounter. It is also common to display photos of your pets in your home or share them on your social media accounts. However, the admiration of pets and domestic animals dates back farther than you may think.

The oldest paintings of animals discovered, so far, are around 19,000 years old. These paintings were found in caves in Lascaux, Southern France, and showcase animals in almost 600 different pieces of work. While these paintings do not depict the animals as being domestic or as pets, these are the oldest paintings of animals in general, demonstrating them as a topic of interest to their human counterparts The earliest artwork featuring domesticated animals come from Babylonia about 5,500 years ago, in 3500 BC. The paintings discovered are of goats and horses that appear to belong to humans who are also shown in the paintings.

Domestic cats made their appearance in artwork a few hundred years later in the Ancient Egyptian era, where they were kept as pets by royalty. Only the Pharaoh could own a cat; however, the Egyptian people were very fond of the species and they were depicted in a large number of Egyptian works of art.

Around 800 BC, Greeks demonstrated their fondness for dogs. There are thousands of sculptures, mosaics, pieces of pottery, and other works of art featuring dogs who appear to be domesticated. Dogs were also featured in numerous works of art from the Roman Empire, around this same time period, and it is believed that the Romans were the first to begin actually caring for their dogs instead of expecting them to fend for themselves. In the Middle Ages, dogs were mainly used as hunting aids, though some noblewomen did have dogs as companion pets, as seen in art from that era.

During the Renaissance period, royalty and upperclass frequently had their portraits made. Many of these portraits include a dog at their side or on their lap. It seems that at this time it became more common to have a dog as a companion, and especially more common to document that relationship through art.

In the 1700s, cats were frequently seen in Asian artwork, as shown by the works of Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Indian artists. In the Victorian Era, portraits of pets, and pets with their owners became more like what we see today, as they were taken with a camera. Photos were taken on rare and special occasions in this era, due to the fact that they had to be taken in studios. The fact that pets were a common theme in these photos demonstrates their popularity and that people considered them to be a part of their family.

Our modern practice of posing for photos with companion animals dates back hundreds of years! Creating and displaying art with an image of your pet or an animal that you admire is also no new hobby. It is fascinating to see how people have shown their admiration for animals over the years and through including them in artwork and photographs that will preserve their legacy.

Sources:
The Dodo, The Great Cat, Google Arts and Culture, My Modern Met, National Gallery of Canada, Portrait Pets