Christie’s Dog Sale Spotlight: Jean-Léon Gérôme’s Etude de Chien de Terra-Nuova

Jean-Léon Gérôme was a French painter best known for his Neo-Classical and Orientalist style. His Etude de Chien de Terra-Nuova (1852) is another highlight of Christie’s Dog Sale this Friday, estimateed to sell at auction for between $120,000 – $180,000. Although this Newfoundland Dog is said to be painted “without sentimentality,” the scale, the dignity, and the majestic Academic style belie what appears to me as a profound connection between the artist and subject. Some believe this was the artist’s dog. I think that’s a good guess.

I love this painting because it’s so different from Gérôme’s usual exotic and highly dramatic subjects, like Pollice Verso (below) –- Latin for “Thumbs Down” — one of the paintings that famously convinced Russell Crowe to be in Gladiator.