Jakob Philipp Hackert Prenzlau 1737 - 1807 Florence

Although Hackert is best known for his landscapes, his studies of animals are also worthy of attention.  During his fifteen year sojourn in Rome, Hackert developed a habit of regularly drawing animals from life.  Many studies in various states of finish of dogs, cows, sheep, goats and other animals survive; for example, a series of drawings of dogs is currently preserved in  the Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin (inv. nos. 10407, 10408, 10409 and 14010).  These were doubtless meant to constitute a kind of visual library of elements which he could then integrate in larger compositions.  However, in the case of the present picture, the portrait of the poodle is clearly a finished picture, which could have been a commission from the dog's owner, or a picture that the artist painted for his own pleasure.  It is an extraordinarily vivid and life-like representation of the dog's appearance, but also its playful and attentive character.