UNKNOWN MASTER, Italian
(active mid-17th century)

Portrait of Dogs with a Cat and a Rabbit

c. 1650
Oil on canvas, 81 x 107 cm
Galleria Palatina (Palazzo Pitti), Florence

Court painters were often requested to portray family dogs, as in this case. The dogs portrayed here are a large griffon pointer surrounded by three other dogs: a bloodhound, a small spaniel and a Molossian wearing a collar armed with pointed studs.