The Dog by Francisco Goya is one of the Black Paintings, painted directly onto his house walls between 1819 and 1823. This artwork is considered one of the world’s first Symbolist paintings, and it depicts a dog’s head gazing upwards, lost in the vastness of the rest of the picture. The painting represents the inevitability of death, a common theme in Goya’s art.
Part of a series of dark and ambiguous murals, “The Dog” was created during a time of great mental and physical distress for Goya, who explored topics rooted in socio-political challenges in his art. The painting is oil on plaster and was later transferred to canvas. Goya’s expressive artistic style earned him the title of forefather of modern art.
