Henriëtte Ronner-Knip – The Wait, 1870

by Atelier Liesjes

A small dog is sitting in front of a door painted green. He is white with a black head and a black patch on his back; his ears are pricked up and his muzzle is pointing upwards; his mouth is half open, as if he has just been whimpering or barking. One front paw rests on the stone threshold, the other hangs loosely by his side. At his feet stands a woven basket with a red blanket; to the left, a dark, panelled wooden door or partition can be seen, closing off the corner of the porch. The floor consists of reddish-brown tiles, with a little litter here and there. Ronner-Knip painted this scene in watercolour with gouache, as can be seen from the delicate, almost translucent areas in the dog’s coat and the door’s covering, which is built up with fine hatching. She was a master at suggesting texture: the dog’s shaggy coat, the cool green of the wood, the warm glow of the stones. Particularly striking is the sharp shadow cast by the dog onto the door – a small stroke of artistic ingenuity that lends depth to the image and gives the impression that the sun is low in the sky. The colours are soft and subdued: sage green, terracotta, cream, warm brown and black. The style is that of the Romantic animal genre, refined and sentimental without becoming saccharine. The theme is loyalty and anticipation: the dog is waiting for its owner, looking towards the door and hearing something we cannot hear. The feeling the work evokes is one of tenderness and domesticity, with a touch of humour.
Henriëtte Ronner-Knip (Amsterdam 1821 – Ixelles 1909) was a Dutch-Belgian painter and animal artist. She lived in Brussels from 1850 onwards and initially specialised in dogs, later focusing mainly on cats, which she depicted in countless domestic and salon scenes. A charming, handcrafted animal portrait for lovers of dogs, animal art and nineteenth-century painting.