Le chien 'Donki'

Over the course of his career, Manet occasionally painted his friends’ and acquaintances’ pets. This motif had a long art historical heritage, following on from the French 18th-century tradition of painting royal hunting dogs, as well as the court painting of one of Manet’s great influences, Diego Velázquez. A total of eight works of this kind are recorded in the catalogue raisonné of the artist (Rouart and Wildenstein, nos. 232-235, 253-255, 293), including Tête du chien "Bob", which is also part of the collection of Ann and Gordon Getty and will be offered as lot 1 of the Important Pictures and Decorative Arts Evening Sale on October 20th. Like the current work, many of the depictions of these distinctively characterized animals provide compelling glimpses into the social world of Manet throughout his career. One, La chienne “Follette” (no. 235), painted in 1875, is said to have been owned by the secretary of Antonin Proust. Another, Le chien “Minnay” (no. 293), depicts the dog of Marguerite Gauthier-Lathuille, and was given to her as a gift by the artist. Manet had also painted her portrait the same year. Marguerite was the daughter of Père Lathuille, the owner of a restaurant popular with Manet and other artists in his circle—indeed, Manet had painted a scene at this institution in 1879. Chien “King Charles” (no. 233) was given to Maurice Leclanché, part of an engineering family, and an important collector and friend of many of the Impressionists, including Manet.
As with a number of these playful canine portraits, Manet inscribed the dog’s name on the canvas itself.