Misse and Luttine

Two hunting dogs stand before the cracked base of a pair of stone columns in a sunlit landscape, their names spelled out in gold capitals beneath them — “MISSE” lettered on a rock at the lower left, “LVTTINE” under the black dog at the right. The short-haired cream-and-tawny greyhound leaps in mid-stride, turning to look back, while the furry black spaniel stands planted on all four feet watching her with raised tail, both dogs alive with the arrested motion of play. Jean-Baptiste Oudry painted the pair in 1729 for Louis XV of France, whose favourite hunting dogs they were, as part of the group of royal canine portraits destined for the château of Compiègne; the crisp, enamelled handling and the sculptural pose against the classical ruin show the painter of the royal hunts at the height of his powers. The canvas, long in English private collections, was given to the National Gallery of Art in 1994 by Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Victor Thaw. The painting is held in the National Gallery of Art, Washington.