Our first pet and best friend, dogs have inevitably become a key theme in human art throughout the ages. Even for today's contemporary artists, dogs bring a variety of inspiration.
Image: picture alliance/Robert Harding World Imagery
Advertisement
High Five: Artwork inspired by dogs
Dogs are man's best friends, but can they also inspire artists? Of course! Whether prompting sculptures or blogs, these loyal creatures have led to a wealth of creative ideas. Here are some of our favorites.
Image: Dan Bannino
"Waiting dog"
There are certainly more exciting moments in the life of a dog than having to wait for its owner in front of a shop. But this animal boredom is fodder for Carola Klöckner. She publishes the pictures in her blog "Wartehunde," or "waiting dog." Now, people all over the world can appreciate how good dogs wait patiently on pavements.
Image: DW
A spiky pup
This four-legged friend is certainly no stuffed animal. On the contrary, Polish sculptor Marta Klonowska made this work out of broken glass. Her sculptures depict dogs that played minor roles in famous oil paintings by Old Masters. Klonowska puts these forgotten pups into the limelight, however fragmented they may be.
Image: DW
A dangerously sticky sculpture
This puppy figurine is made of thousands of pieces of pink chewing gum. Italian artist Maurizio Savini claims not to have personally chewed on any of gum he used to make his dog sculpture, among the many sculptures he creates from the sweet stuff he so enjoyed in his youth. The artist used a hair dryer and one brand of gum to creates a truly sticky pup.
Image: DW
Disappearing act
The treat was just there ... and then suddenly disappeared. Dogs simply don't understand the world around them when they're tricked by Finnish magician Jose Ahonen. His animal tricks are incredibly popular on the net and receive millions of clicks.
Image: DW
"Poetic Dogs" by photographer Dan Bannino
It's said that everyone has a doppelganger somewhere in the world. When Italian photographer Dan Bannino visited former stray dogs in an animal shelter in Italy, he recognized certain similarities with famous writers. With just a few accessories, the dogs were made to resemble their famous twins in the photos. Here you can see William Shakespeare and his animal doppelganger.
Image: Dan Bannino
5 images1 | 5
Dogs have multiple responsibilities in the lives of their human companions: protector, helper in distress, hunter, cuddly toy, and sometimes muse. Throughout history, dogs have often been tormented, and pampered. What we see in our dogs, and how we treat them, reveals a lot about ourselves. It's no wonder that this original human pet has also inspired some great art.
Dogs have been painted on canvases and immortalized in sculptures for centuries. To this day, artists never tire of working with their faithful four-legged friends, including art stars like Jeff Koons.
Jeff Koon's created several huge dog sculptures, including his celebrated "Balloon Dog" from the 1990sImage: picture-alliance/dpa/D. Goldsztejn
