Jilted

We know that Valentine's Day can be problematic sometimes. But who said that love can happen only between humans? A best friend is sometimes another species!

Briton Rivière, the painter we present today, was a British artist. He exhibited various paintings at the Royal Academy but devoted much of his life to animal paintings, and he truly loved it. In a lengthy interview in Chums Boys Annual, entitled "How I paint animals," Rivière explained some of the practicalities of painting both tame and wild animals:

"I have always been a great lover of dogs but I have worked at them so much that I've grown tired of having them about me. However, you can never paint a dog unless you are fond of it. I never work from a dog without the assistance of a man who is well acquainted with animals ...  Collies, I think, are the most restless dogs ... greyhounds are also very restless, and so are fox terriers ... The only way to paint wild animals is to gradually accumulate a large number of studies and a great knowledge of the animal itself, before you can paint its picture ... I paint from dead animals as well as from live ones. I have had the body of a fine lioness in my studio ... I have done a great deal of work in the dissecting rooms at the Zoological Gardens from time to time."

But coming back to today's painting: if you ever feel sad, don't forget about your animal friends.  :)  And if you love depictions of dogs and other animals in art, you should definitely check out our selection of Animals Postcards, now on sale!  :)

P.S. We love dogs in paintings! Here are some of the best (and cutest) depictions of dogs in modern art!