We went to a museum on a rainy day a few weeks back, and the docent at the ticket area advised us to keep an eye out for dogs in the paintings we were about to view.
There were tons of dogs depicted in paintings from all eras. Here was one of the odder placements (it is a dog and not a K9-looking lamb, right?):
Strange tableau. I’m not sure what scent that dog is picking up on the unraveled legging or what Baby Jeebus is thinking about St. Pincushion. Mary looks like she’s hoping Jesus doesn’t pee.
Great art is lost on me. Anyhoo, it seems like cats are represented, but not as frequently in Western art, kinda the opposite of the Internet.
Open thread!
SoupCatcher
Saw this dog picture that I enjoyed at the Prado.
shell
My favorite dog painting.
http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/57407.html
srv
I’m trying to pick between these trips:
http://www.fourseasons.com/aroundtheworld/private_jet_travel_itineraries/#/2016_trips
When is the next debate? I’m tired of hearing of this Carson guy. He might make a good VP in another time, but even I accept that we may need Rubio. I wonder if he’d take Surgeon General or maybe HHS or HUD.
Emma
Luini, the Virgin of the Dragonfly, also known as the Virgin and Child with Saint Sebastian and Saint James. Pretty poochie!
SWMBO
I think this painting is a fake. The Real Jesus ™ would have been circumcised.
Randy P
I’m not one who “gets” art for artistic reasons. I’m often taken with the subjects though. I love the paintings of Bruegel (uh, the Elder I think) because of the glimpses into peasant life of a certain time and place. As I age I’m beginning to realize here and there where something was technically difficult (how do you paint transparent glass? Wind? Rain?) and so that sort of adds to my appreciation of some paintings.
Anyway as for cat art, I like Renoir’s “Woman with a Cat” for the simple, non-artistic reason that my wife has a print of it on the wall of her home office, and she is often seated nearby, holding our own cat in exactly the same pose. The juxtaposition always amuses me.
Different clothes, different colored cat. But still.
Emma
Oops. I am informed that the saint on the right might be Saint Roche and the dog is his companion.
Randy P
@Emma: Was Saint Roche known for issues keeping his pants up?
shell
Since hes a saint already, it always seemed unfair that St Sebastian still had to go around with all those arrows sticking out of him.
scav
Saint Pincushion Sebastian has some very interesting fans (see Michima) and Saint Roch should be ignored by no fan of dogs. If only we had a Saint Bagel, we could make a case (with a little innovative reclassification of licking wounds) for having Sex, Drugs, Roch and Roll.
cckids
Apropos of not much except saints, I have an 85-year old aunt, who’s discovered (and loves) Facebook over the past 18 months. Mostly she posts stuff about her grandkids, but as a determined Catholic, she also posts some saint’s days stuff.
The most recent one I made me laugh, because it was Saint Whoever, patron saint of “disappointing children”.
They have a saint for EVERYTHING.
RSA
@Randy P:
I gained more appreciation from going to museums that described an artist’s work in some detail, either in one specific period or sampled over their career, so that I could understand what they were trying to do and a little more about how they did it.
Chris
Welp, this little Florida town (St. Augustine) is currently celebrating its 450th birthday. As a result, the store is more crowded than I’ve seen it in months.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@srv: Why choose? Only Losers have to choose. :-p
Carson’s a crank..
Cheers,
Scott.
shell
When one of my dogs was going in for a seriious operation, I said a little prayer to St. Francis. Never knew about Roch.
scav
@cckids: Better still, they have multiples! Clotilde / Louise de Marillac / Matilda / Monica. It’s like the Anti-Santa Charlie’s Angels, with spare!
RSA
Following a link from Kevin Drum, I discover that, apparently, Jonah Goldberg can’t read:
There’s nothing here to misunderstand! Acton is talking about power corrupting people who hold it, not people who admire it.
FlyingToaster
@srv:
Rubio doesn’t help Trump. The ex-Cuban retirees are going to vote R anyway, and Rubio can’t bring in young’ns nor Latinos; and he can’t drum up any evangelicals who would sit out the election otherwise.
I’d be looking at Cruz to bring in those evangelicals, but tempermentally, Trump might prefer Carson or Fiorina.
I don’t see any of the 17 beating Hillary. Trump has the best shot, but I think Latinos and African-Americans will show up just to vote against him.
raven
@Randy P: Hurray for the Riff Raff – St. Roch Blues
SoupCatcher
@Randy P: According to that wikipedia link, Roche was painted with one leg exposed to show his scars from surviving the plague.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@Randy P: Speaking of painting transparent stuff… Ivan Kostantinovich did some amazing pieces.
Cheers,
Scott.
Litlebritdifrnt
This tweet just now gave me a serious lump in my throat and my eyes began to well up. Just when you think there is no hope for humanity this happens
Emily68
@Emma Luini, the Virgin of the Dragonfly, also known as the Virgin and Child with Saint Sebastian and Saint James. Pretty poochie!
Do you know why St. James is grabbing his crotch?
benw
This NYT article about the Hungarian government tricking refugees onto trains, transporting them to concentration camps, and writing ID numbers on their hands is crazy. Even the human rights advocates quoted in the article can’t quite seem to believe they are doing it.
Debbie
@FlyingToaster:
He’d likely go with Carly, a fellow business maven.
bystander
@benw: No need to reinvent the wheel when we all know what works. President Trump, please take note.
St. Roch is evidently showing us a bubo on his thigh, evidence of his suffering and his martyrdom. Likewise, St. Sebastien shows his solidarity in the whole pain thing with Jesus.
Chris
@benw:
You’ve got to be kidding.
Doug R
All this talk about dogs and no “A Friend in Need”? http://worth1000.s3.amazonaws.com/themeposts/635472689442781400/635472689442781430_ae9a.jpg
Betty Cracker
@benw: I spent a little time in Budapest back in the 90s. I’m 100% appalled at these developments but only half surprised.
srv
@benw: If the Holocaust didn’t happen, I don’t see how Muslim refugees could cry foul.
Thor Heyerdahl
@Betty Cracker: With the rise of nationalist parties like Jobbik actions in Hungary are surprising. I was there mid 90’s, in 2000 and most recently 5 years ago. Friends on the ground tell me the right wingers are being…well right wingers
Thor Heyerdahl
fywp and auto correct. it’s supposed to be “not surprising” above but I can’t edit it
SiubhanDuinne
@Litlebritdifrnt:
Now that does my heart good. Thank you.
SiubhanDuinne
@Emily68:
I give up. Why?
Emma
@Randy P: All I know about him is that he’s the patron saint of dogs, since a dog saved his life by healing him and bringing him bread.
benw
@Betty Cracker: My wife was recently in Prague in the Czech Republic for work and loved it.
@srv: To their credit, the Times didn’t interview a Holocaust denier to make it a “both sides disagree” kind of article, but that’s a pretty low bar to clear.
Emma
@Emily68: He is, I believe, pulling aside his tunic to show his scars.
satby
@SiubhanDuinne: Hungarians are setting up volunteer convoys to drive the refugees to the next border because they’re so appalled by their government. People can be good to each other, thankfully.
SiubhanDuinne
@benw:
Unbelievable. Un.Be.Fucking.Lievable.
Emma
And then I keep reading and see the story about Hungary. Jesus. We are a doomed race.
SiubhanDuinne
@satby:
The Hungarian people, yes indeed. Hungarian officials, not so much. See benw.
Gene108
@Debbie:
Carly’s a loser and Trump does not surround himself with that kind of loser stink.
Meg Whitman lost to Governor Brown, but she is actually a successful CEO, and therefore does not have a lasting loser stink like Carly does.
If Trump is going with a chick tech CEO, it’d be Meg.
SiubhanDuinne
@srv:
Say whut, now?
BillinGlendaleCA
Spot the dog, you mean Cal Worthington and his dog Spot(which for someone who grew up in LA could be a lion, tiger, elephant…).
Doug R
@BillinGlendaleCA: Cal used to do ads in Seattle/Tacoma as well.
Cervantes
Right.
Virginia (fka Abo Gato)
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet: all this time I’ve been thinking Winslow Homer did the best waves. Thank you for introducing me to Kostantinovich. Beautiful!
Debbie
@benw:
I heard something earlier today from a Hungarian official about how all these refugees weren’t in keeping with Europe’s Christian traditions. 1930s Germany was an obvious parallel, but I also thought of the GOP’s pronouncements on immigration.
Splitting Image
In case anyone missed it, there was a random act of journalism in Canada this week. Immigration minister Chris Alexander appeared on a CBC panel to defend himself after a family of Syrians died trying to get to Greece after being refused entry to Canada. He tried to claim that the CBC had never held a discussion on Syria until now and the host Rosemary Barton called him a liar right then and there.
Chris Alexander Just Got Put In His Place By CBC’s Rosemary Barton
Alexander is a nasty piece of work who could give Chris Christie and Mike Huckabee lessons in meanness. Before this scandal hit the fan, Alexander’s main achievements as Immigration minister were defending the poor taxpayer from “bogus” refugee claims and cancelling a program that gave medical aid to refugees who actually made it here.
John Revolta
I love the sorta annoyed look on Sebastian’s face.
“Well, here’s another fine mess you’ve gotten me into, Baby Jeebus!!”
Anne Laurie
Yup, that’s a dog, Betty — the guy he’s sniffing is St. Roch (or Rocco), patron saint of dogs, plague victims (thus the bandage on his otherwise bare leg), and sometimes pilgrims (the staff & the seashell on his chest).
I recognized him immediately, because my second-grade parochial school teacher was a Mrs. Roch, who was proud of “her” saint.
Statues of St. Roch usually show the dog with a loaf of bread in his mouth, but you can get much finer detailing in a painting than a statue. Especially one done on the cheap, where the generic plaster male-or-female figures frequently can only be distinguished by the “attributes” pasted on afterwards (the dog for Roch, keys for Peter, Jerome’s lion, Barbara’s castle). Some of those attributes could be quite grim… don’t look up Barnabas, Lucy, or Agetha while you’re eating…
Comrade Nimrod Humperdink
So the Cougs just lost to Portland St. I think this might be the year I finally just walk away for a while. It’s been a long damn ten years of terrible football, and I’m just not interesting in suffering through more of it. Especially not staying up in the predawn hours and dodging viruses in order to do it.
benw
@SiubhanDuinne:
Also per the Times, the German people and government are being amazingly humane.
The Times says “more than 104,400 people seeking asylum” have arrived in Germany in August alone, which is hard to fathom: that’s something like 125 million calories worth of food *per day*, But the Germans seem to be coping so far, with both official and individual decency.
Anne Laurie
@raven: St. Roch’s Infirmary (any of the many) would have been founded for plague victims!
Another Holocene Human
@cckids: I’ve gained an appreciation over my life for St. Jude, patron saint of lost causes.
Another Holocene Human
@scav: Steinbeck should have done his research; in Tortilla Flats his massively disappointed mom reaches out to Santa Lucia.
As a Catholic, I’ve always loved her line throwing shade on the Virgin Mary: “My daughter doesn’t know who the father is either.”
Another Holocene Human
@RSA: Ow my brain hurts. The original text couldn’t be more clear.
Another Holocene Human
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet: Gah, looks like he invented Thomas Kincaide’s shtick.
I grew up close to the sea, and it never looked like that.
Gimlet
Old classics with a dog in the painting?
http://thexfrontrange.com/files/2012/08/Dogs-Poker1-630×472.jpg
Another Holocene Human
@benw: Ghastly.
Another Holocene Human
@benw: Czech Republic has a lively democracy and a economy that’s rolling. They’re conveniently located to sell goods to wealthy Western Europe, but with lower labor costs. They also benefit from a brisk tourist trade.
Hungary is a land that could be in an excellent location geographically but right now is a bit of a liability. They are desperate for tourism, but most is concentrated in a small patch of Budapest. They’re linguistically isolated from the rest of Europe. Hungarians that I met HATE the Soviet era and everything about it (spit) but it’s undeniable that the fall of the iron curtain hurt Hungary economically and the utter desperation has led to a sad educational, cultural, and social decline.
That Budapest train station is interesting. There is a main line paralleling the Danube straight to Vienna. The Austro-Hungarian Empire built an impressive rail transportation infrastructure before they fell. There is an airport. It is way out of town.
xenos
@Splitting Image: per the news in Toronto the family had not yet requested asylum in Canada, but a relative in BC was gping to organise for them.
Either way the non-doomed political parties here are running on taking in more Syrian.
And, by the way, may the houses of Bush and Said rot in hell for doing so much to create this disaster.
Another Holocene Human
@Debbie:
Magyars were soooooooo Christian when they Johnny-come-lately’d into Europe.
schrodinger's cat
Cats improve everything even art.
Randy P
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet: Those are all awesome, thanks for exposing me to a new artist.
BobS
@Debbie: 1930’s Germany is certainly an obvious parallel. So is this place.
Another Holocene Human
@BobS:
Sure, what Andrei says is terrible and he should feel terrible. But it’s not terribly surprising given the recent past. Russia seized the region of Crimea, then went to war in Eastern Ukraine, all over a temper tantrum sparked by the ouster of a Putin-friendly executive who was forced to step down by some plucky young anti-corruption activists. I think the “anti-corruption activists” part is the part that bothers Putin the most.
Once the war started in earnest, one started seeing racist pseudo-histories of Ukraine emerging, casting Russians not just as deceiving imperialists but as “Mongolians” with Slavic names whose language was a butchered Ukrainian.
It’s nasty as fuck, but kind of not surprising when you start shelling, besieging, and assassinating people for months on end.
Yeah, sparky, Ukrainian hatred of Russia is very fucking real. Matter of fact, there’s no doubt Ukrainians are very afraid of Russia widening the conflict as well. You grow to hate what you fear; in this case the fears are very real. Ethnic Ukrainians look at the ethnic Crimean Tatars or at their own history under Stalin and they fear for themselves and their children.
BobS
@Another Holocene Human: Was it fear of the Jews and Poles that caused the butchery described in the article?
Interesting (albeit inaccurate) narrative of recent history. Remarkably similar to the one offered by the folks responsible for the Iraq debacle. And come to think of it, the same folks working overtime to subvert the negotiations with Iran.
g
That’s St. Roch and his dog. He’s the saint who cured plague victims, before he caught the plaque himself. His dog saved him by bringing him water and food.
Elizabelle
Then there’s Saint Guinefort, who is a dog.
My kinda saint.
Lapham’s Quarterly: A Faithful Hound: How a dog came to be recognized as a saint.
Link: http://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/faithful-hound
Joel
@srv: What, exactly, are you trying to say? Because the implication is not very good for you.
Cervantes
@Joel:
It’s not what you think, but it’s not great, either.
The statement was:
Meaning, I think, that if Muslims insist on pretending that the Holocaust did not happen, then Muslim refugees being treated the way various groups were treated during the Holocaust really can’t complain about it coherently.
The flaws in the statement are: (1) not (even close to) all Muslims deny the Holocaust took place; and (2) even if we posit (idiotically) that those refugees can’t really complain because they are Holocaust-deniers, the fact remains that we can complain, and should.
Brachiator
@Gene108:
Meg Whitman, who had an illegal housekeeper problem?
You funny.
In the end, when she ran for governor, the only people who strongly voted for her were people over age 65 and people whose household income was more than $100,000.
Despite his present popularity, I just don’t see how the GOP love affair with Trump can continue.
RobNYNY1957
St. Sebastian of the Badly Concealed Erection?
RobNYNY1957
@SWMBO: I formerly
had parties to celebrate the Feast of the Holy Circumcision. Wieners!
D_Cassatt
Maybe not of of the greatest masters, but this is an interesting painting. St. Sebastian was a Roman officer who was ordered to be shot by Diocletian during his persecution of Christians. He survived and has been one of those saints called during plagues, since he represents suffering. St. Roch was a plague survivor, and he’s pointing to one of his bubos (swollen lymph node) and he’s also one of the go-to guys for the plague.
The scallop shell on St. Roch’s garment is a sign that he is a pilgrim, Mary’s blue garment (she’s almost always in blue) is a sign of the heavens and the trees and bushes around the figures are signs of life. Knowing the figures and the symbolism helps a lot in these religious paintings.
Anyway, here’s one description I found: http://www.worcesterart.org/Hope/luini_detail.htm
mclaren
@srv: nothing says ‘good vp’ like advocating drone strikes on women and children crossing into the u.s. illegally.
Asshole. Go back to sodomizing your dead girlfriend and leave us alone.
mclaren
@Brachiator:
I didn’t see how the g.o.p. could get any crazier after bonzo the chimp s co-star became president, but it did.
Prepare to be surprised.
oldswede
This painting is in the Ringling Museum in Florida, handy for Betty Cracker I’m sure.
Here is a link to the museum’s own description of the painting: http://ringlingdocents.org/dragonfly.htm