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Could the famous 16th Century manuscript artist, Simon Bening, have had a favorite dog? An exciting new copy of “The Book of Deeds of Jacques de Lalaing” by Simon Bening, the 16th Century famous manuscript artist, is acquired by the Getty, and it is discovered that a certain “pup” keeps appearing in his work.
Key Takeaways:
- While doing scholarly research prior to the acquisition of a manuscript, the author discovered something funny yet intriguing about some of the paintings.
- While the paintings in the manuscript do not always credit an author, the placement of a particular dog in several of them led the author to believe that they were painted by Simon Bening, an artist who included a fluffy dog in several of his later works.
- The dog may have been Bening’s own dog or may have been included for symbolism, since dogs in medieval illuminations often have a symbolic meaning such as loyalty.
“I think we can safely posit that Simon Bening was a “dog person.””
http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/an-artists-pet-dog-photobombs-the-middle-ages/
