A Saluki Dog

This 1840 painting of a Saluki dog reflects the growing Victorian fascination with exotic dog breeds brought to Britain through colonial connections with the Middle East and Central Asia. Landseer’s portraits of individual dogs were prized by their owners and contributed to the emerging culture of pedigree dog breeding in 19th-century Britain. Landseer's dog portraits occupied a central place in Victorian culture's sentimental engagement with the animal world. His ability to render the individual personality of specific dogs — their intelligence, loyalty, and emotional life — with the full resources of academic portraiture gave animal painting a dignity it had rarely previously possessed. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were among his most enthusiastic collectors of dog subjects, and royal favor transformed him from a fashionable painter into a cultural institution. His anthropomorphized animals — dogs that seemed to think, to grieve, to love — told Victorian audiences stories about the virtues they aspired to in a form they found entirely credible.

The Saluki’s elegant, elongated form is rendered with attention to the breed’s distinctive feathered coat and slender build. Landseer uses a dark background to silhouette the dog’s graceful profile.