Chinese Statue of a Dog
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View on museum website →Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 20.3 x 24.2 cm (8 x 9 1/2 in.) framed: 31.4 x 35.9 x 3.5 cm (12 3/8 x 14 1/8 x 1 3/8 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CMC
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection
Accession Number
1970.17.128
Art Historical Context
Behold the delightful *Chinese Statue of a Dog (1953), a petite oil-on-canvas painting by Captain Edward H.olyneux, measuring just 20.3 x 24.2 cm (8 x 9 1/2 in.). This intimate work, now housed in the National Gallery Art's CMC Department, captures the serene form of a traditional Chinese statue—a subject that evokes the guardian "foo dogs" or temple lions long revered in East Asian culture for warding off evil spirits. Molyneux's choice of oil on canvas allows for luminous highlights and subtle textures, masterfully rendering the stone-like quality of the sculpture in a compact, jewel-box for...