Knight, Death, and the Devil (Ritter, Tod, und Teufel) is one of three master prints by Albrecht Dürer. It is, of course, full of sixteenth century Roman Catholic symbolism, but my main focus is on the dog, which represents faith and loyalty.
The dog looks like a setter. In fact, in fact, I’m sure that German longhair, Large Münsterländer, and long-haired Weimaraner people are very much interested in this depiction.
I almost imagine this dog being a gold colored animal, simply because Dürer makes its coat shine in a particular way. Perhaps it is just my imagination, but I can imagine this animal as a gold colored spanelish/setterish dog.
Or maybe it is my golden retriever-colored spectacles.
(And no, I’m not creating an alternative history that golden retrievers come from Germany in the sixteenth century!)
No stop. Looks like a flat coat to me.
Hypnotizing scene, though.
Laughing along… I was picturing a reddish dog… Munsterlanders generally have more than one color and this dog looks one color to me.
I know! It’s a Pegnitz Water Spaniel since that is the River that Nurembug was built around which is where Albrecht Durer is from…
;-D
It is likely that if one wereable to go back far enough in the (unrecorded) history of dogs, that all the spaniel/setter types, and their retriever close cousins, would be found to have common ancestors. The pointing breeds are also cousins, with a hefty dash of hound added (or perhaps the hound came first). And of course there are contributions from other sources as well, most of which can only be inferred. But way, way, back there….much fewer differences!
i think this is an excellent specimen of an early Nova Scotia Duck-Toller. ;-)
– terry
terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, TDF
I don’t know – I’ve seen liver dogs with that sheen on them too! I think it’s fairly obvious the dog isn’t black or white, though.
This dog is a natural coat Papillion . A fave of royal courts of the time. Marie Antoinette had 2 of them. She was allowed to keep during her imprisonment until her execution . Its other name in the continental spaniel royal or spaniel deluxe. This dog will bravely follow the knight in to the darkness of hell and be with him till his last breath with its snout close to the knights lip he original lap dog on laps of kings and queens of the realms. A constant in portraits of the time. This dog was a stray now his constant watcher , protector and comfort . a metaphor for the roman catholic culture and the baptized catholic solider of our church . In essence this dog the Papillion is the catholic dog. it has lived and died besides Catholic kings and queens . catholic who who have been persecuted, overthrown, imprisoned or slaughtered.
Except that a papillon is small dog.
Ignoring that fact, you might have a point.
Agreed, Scott –
i can’t imagine a Papillon whose body is longer than the neck
of the horse who is carrying the knight, in full armor.
The other parts of the drawing are very accurate in their pro-
portions, so i can’t imagine Durer was so badly mistaken in
the relative size of the dog.