Born in Vienna in 1836, the son of highly regarded animal & portrait painter Heinrich Reichert, Carl followed the natural course of heritability & created a stunning body of painty work...but...did you know that he often painted under the name "Johann Hartung"? Carl studied in Rome & Munich...& very clearly, from life (as his uncanny postures & expression reveal). He "got it". I cannot help but note a clear delineation between paintings attributed to Reichert than those he created as "Hartung" ( I feel the Reicherts own a higher level of sophistication & development than many attributed to Hartung...)what do YOU think? Come & play the guessing game with me...this slideshow is loaded with Reichert & Hartung...in no order.... Born in Berlin to noted Jewish architect Ernst Freud...he was the grandson of Sigmund. The pedigree alone promises the gifts of the man. His paintings are revealing, yet intensely private...I feel guest-like when gazing at them... Lucien Freud, his last portrait (unfinished) of assistant David Dawson & "Eli", Freud's Whippet...
Norwegian Munch, his paintings disrupt & disturb...merging anthropomorphic features in an alchemy that is at once cool & fugly. I've never liked him all that Munch, but...who cares? Was he really just ineptly painting his dog when he painted the loathsome work for which he enjoys everlasting fame ("The Scream")? I don't believe so, as we see that Edvard Munch was wholly capable of creating accurate features & locomotive lines bordering on "pleasant". Was it just his wholehearted madness??? Did he generously bequeath us a kaleidoscopic view into the chaos of his brilliant mind, which, addled by drink & chronic traumatic encephalopathy ( I'm armchair diagnosing here) from incessant brawling...availed this stuff? Was he a sort of Nordic Caravaggio-moderne? Whatever the case, Munch lives on forever as the most emotional Norwegian in history. Dec.12, 1863-Jan. 23, 1944 I've always been enamored with Dals & have wondered about the etymology of the name "Dalmatian" (& Pomeranians as well...another day though)...& so....let's visit the Balkans. When one investigates the word "Dalmatian"...one is immediately sent to "Dalmatae" which has it's roots in Illyrian (a group of Indo-Euro tribes who spoke Indo-Euro languages. Location? The western Balkans). "Delme" ("sheep")...is how it siphons down. With an occupancy in the southeastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, the Dalmatae were known as nomadic herdsmen who lived in caves & had the characteristic detail of wearing a fur hat atop their heads. Before I make them sound too pastoral...let it be known that they were known for living rustically...yet, for having incredibly advanced weaponry. With neolithic settlement evident (see slideshow) (visit Croatia as soon as possible)...one can see, a STUNNING evolution of society: complex, advanced, Hellenic, strange...etc.. Their militia must have been absolutely wicked...& their religious associations are fascinating. Despite the success of the Roman Conquest over these fascinating people...the shepherd faction refused to assimilate wholly...& when Rome fell....the Dalmatae shepherds were known to speak a form of old Dalmatic Romantic (that being the intermediary one between Italian & Rumanian). This continued right up until WW1!....So...knowing the temperaments & willful nature of the shepherds....I conclude that if temperamental heritability comes into play, it is quite possible that Dalmatians come from Dalmatae. If early: by way of trade. If later, as has been posed by other voices in other rooms, who knows? **As an aside: if you read my comments on some of the photos below...you might think that I'm fixated on the Dal's tail. I am. While the breed standard is nearly blase on the subject...("...an extension of the spine.......")...I'm acutely aware that the Dal's tail is the giveaway. No other dog has the sharp, finite, refined & absolute tail of a Dal. Other similar breeds have sickle tails, ring tails, curved tails, rudder-tails...& even lumbering baseball-bat tails....the Dal's tail is a glorious thing to behold...it is interested, alert & honest...as graceful as the day is long...how many Dal tails can you spy in the slideshow?** The now-extinct White English Terrier is to be held responsible for the Dal tail...(see print in slideshow)...& Dals play into our Bull Terriers as well... BELOW: There was a lot going on! & one can see that without being perpetually on the offense, one's position in this exceptional geography would be quashed. I can't help but admire the maritime commerce potential! I can see dogs, birds, spices, silks, livestock & all-sorts being shipped & traded en masse... Credit for this image goes to: Wikimedia user MaryroseB54 / CC BY-SA [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0]). The red dot (our addition to the image) marks Nakovana for which Peter Sommer Travels is acknowledged.
There seem to be innumerable Saint Bernards named "Barry". Barry was a legend...born in 1800 at L'Hospice du Grand Saint-Bernard, he was known for having saved the lives of 40 people & was taxidermied en homage. As a dog breeder, what I find even more fascinating is that in 2004, the breeding program of the hospice sold to The Barry Foundation where puppies are produced to this day (4 litters of them in 2019...and 2 litters in 2020 according to their website). The Barry Foundation certainly has a marketing structure, the likes of which I've never seen....& a spectacular portal for study, immersion, awareness etc...among the aspects of their mission statement is their stated desire to adhere to the original format of the magnificent dogs of yore. The original Saint Bernards were not wholly a molosser, for such a dog would never have been able to trudge through snow, nor would they have had the endurance needed for any exertion along the lines of winter rescue. Exclusive of that, the molossoid heads of today's Saints would once again have not the slightest business in the alps. The sagging, open eyelid & sclera would have been damnable in snow, wind, sleet, ice...& the shortened nose would have had an immediate & diverse affect on respiration. In short (no pun intended) such a Saint would have been a legend merely for saving its own life... We've bred them towards a format of high caricature (as we do almost everything...from AQHA to Yorkies to Ligers to Tigons to Neapolitan Mastiffs to Persian Cats to Sphinx Cats to Labradors to Guinea Pigs to Gypsy Vanners to Miniature Aussies to Friesians to Pointers to Poodles to Dachshunds to American Bulldogs to Tennessee Walkers to Black Angus to Labradoodle to Cockers to....etc...etc.....). Back to the concept of "form follows function", extremes have no place in extremes. One can see from the antique fotos below that the original Saints had a more reasonable frame with a tapered side-view, moderate spring of rib, bladed bone & certainly a longer nasal bridge; the dewlaps were not sagging with a loose, inverted "V" & the scleras were pigmented nicely with lower rims flush with the curve of the orbit....they were not of excessive collagenic appearance. It's of merit to note that pendulous dewlaps & ears are useful & required to a degree in scenting...they fluff up the scent, frame it in the face & keep it confined to the trail... Visit The Barry Foundation right now! Let me know what you think...I'll meet you at the inn for curled trout & liquor, we'll talk dog. I'm always looking for cool, historic etchings of our best friends...this George du Maurier (1834-1896) is certainly grand. Yes, George is Daphne's father! This pen & ink was created for Miss Daisy Whiteside, the corner reads: ‘20 Avenue des Tilleuls, Villa Montmorency, Auteuil, Paris, Sept 1877’; while the artist's inscription reads: ‘Chang – alias (illegible) – alias Bawbar for Daisy Whiteside from her friend G Du Maurier'. Still in the original frame & mount! Chang was Du Maurier’s, Saint Bernard, named after an eight foot sculpture of Orientalia exhibited in the British Museum in the 1860s. The little girl to whom the drawing was dedicated was Daisy Whiteside. She & the Du Maurier sisters were fotografed several times by the curious & curiouser Lewis Carroll at Oak Tree House, Hampstead on July 10, 1875 (see the book: "The Photographs of Lewis Carroll, A Catalogue Raisonne"-compiled by Edward Wakeling). Hopefully, they all fled the illicit clutches of Lewis Carroll...but...back to the engraving... Click here to fly on over to Rubylane & immediately purchase this gorgeous thing... This week, bidding shall conclude on these (see below) wondrous pages of manuscript from the works of noted alchemy master, Sir Isaac Newton. We have Sotheby's to thank for this distraction (current bid as of the writing of this post is 280,000 GBP). Be there or be geometrically challenged. What's the story on these wonderfully burnished vellums? A Pomeranian. According to numerous accounts, while Newton was immersed in study, a knock-at-the door prompted his Pom ("Diamond") to skedaddle about in excitement & delight. It is not at all difficult to imagine a busybody-Pom launching on-to or off-of a table, yipping, yapping & delivering the ear-drum-splitting cacophony of sound indigenous only to Poms. We see Diamond overturning a candle & setting months of Isaac Newton's study into the sacred geometry of pyramids alight...well... The obvious alchemical allegory cannot be denied, as this is one act of The Great Work...& as such, we can only speculate. Newton reputedly exclaimed: " Oh Diamond! Diamond! Little do you know the mischief you have done me!"... In Thomas Carlyle's book (loaded with masonic-rite double, triple & quadruple-entendres) The French Revolution , you'll find reference to Newton & Diamond under: Chapter 1.1.11 "Realised Ideals"...(I have included the entire book for you below!...scroll to page 14..). Thank you, project Gutenberg for your exquisite, online e-library. I love you. |
AuthorHowl-O! I'm Julia Jensen- devoted student of dogs & religious sampler of cheesecake, wheat beer, huehuetenango coffee & almost any chocolate out there. I indulge these fancies & more, in the remote silence of the pacific NW. *PLEASE NOTE* The videos selected for bloghism could be construed as "disturbing" to those of certain bents, sensitivities, natures, mind-sets, etc.. I have a distinct interest in relaying footage of dogs doing what they have been doing for centuries....& in some cases, I also include dog show footage just as a matter of interest. If you do not like my selections, by all means, do not view them. Archives
June 2024
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