Pride of Place

Oil on panel, signed
42.5 x 54.5 cms
163/4 x 241/2 inches

Born in Courtrai in 1829, de Vos was a pupil of the animal painter Edouard Woutermaertens at the Academy in his home town. His teacher was a painter in the Belgian Realist tradition and painted a number of dog paintings and this influence is clearly apparent in the work of the pupil.

Vincent de Vos became better known than Woutermaertens and he travelled and exhibited in France, Italy and America as well as his native Belgium. His animals owe a certain amount to the work of Sir Edwin Landseer, but he often took the depiction of animals in a genre type situation, a step further.

He kept a menagerie of animals in his studio including apes, foxes and even a camel and these appear in many of his paintings. Often on a small scale and nearly always on panel, he produced a large number of circus type situations with monkeys interacting with dogs. His more prosaic dog portraiture is filled with details such as insects, a rich carpet, textured baskets, stone and brickwork.

He died in Coutrai on 5th October 1875.

Museums where his work can be seen include: Lille, Mulhouse and Tourgoing.