3328

Preparatory work

Studies for the Full-length Portrait of the German Emperor Wilhelm II, King of Prussia: A Borzoi Dog and a Pencil Study of the Emperor and a Dog 1908-1910

With a pencil study above of the Emperor of Germany and a dog

Oil on pencil on board, 49.5 x 75.5 cm (19 ½ x 29 ¾ in.)

Inscribed verso: The Borzois Dog

Studio Inventory p. 31 (164): The Kaiser's Dog. Study for completed equestrian picture of German Emperor Wilhelm II.

Private Collection

This is one of a number of studies made by de László for the official portrait of the Emperor William II, painted in the summer of 1909 at his Summer residence Wilhelmshöhe. As Rutter notes, “This time His Majesty had decided to be painted in his full dress white uniform as colonel-in-chief of the Cuirassiers of the Guard, standing beside his favorite charger. He had specially ordered a couple of Borzoi dogs from Chemnitz as additional decoration, and before beginning the picture de László had several photographs taken in order to obtain the best pose for his restless models.”^[1] Two full-length studies for his equestrian portrait, dated 1908 [5044] & [11817], as well as two photographs of the Kaiser embossed 1908, posing in full dress uniform with his horse, indicate that de László was already working on this commission then.

On one of the two photographs above mentioned, de László drew a small pencil sketch of the Borzoi dog and horse included in the final composition. It seems that the artist found it quite difficult to cope with the fidgety dogs, and became anxious to multiply the studies to get a satisfactory result. A letter dated 4 December 1909 from Lady Muriel Herbert, reading: “My dog is looking twice as beautiful now he has got some muscle on him, & fit to be painted with any monarch! If you really want to do him […] Lady Pembroke would be delighted if you could come down later on – and spend some days here, after Christmas”^[2] suggests that de László was trying to find a suitable model to make additional studies.

De László’s reply, dated 13 December 1909,^[3] mentions again the projected appointment to go to Wilton House to paint the “fine dog for my picture of the German Emperor.” In this respect, the present study could well be a study of Lady Muriel Herbert’s Borzoi dog. There exists another very similar study on oil [3113], probably executed around the same time as the present one.

Despite the prominence of the handsome Borzoi in the finished portrait, German Emperor Wilhelm II, King of Prussia’s personal preference of dog was in fact the dachshund or ‘teckel’. At one time he owned a dozen very badly behaved teckels who accompanied him everywhere, snarling and biting the Royal Entourage at every turn.^[4] By contrast the Borzoi was synonymous with elegance and Imperial prestige and therefore more fitting for an Emperor’s official portrait. Bred and favoured by the Imperial Russian Royal family, the Borzois were also preferred by the British monarchy and were amongst the most sought after and expensive breeds of that time. Queen Alexandra’s Borzoi ‘Alix’, given to her by Tsar Nicholas II, won over a hundred prizes at the early dog shows in England and crowds would queue up for hours just to catch a glimpse of him.

PROVENANCE:         

In the possession of the artist on his death

EXHIBITED:        

•Christie’s, King Street, London, A Brush with Grandeur. 6-22 January 2004, nº 42

LITERATURE:         

•Rutter, Owen, Portrait of a Painter, London, 1939, pp. 268-9

•Clifford, Derek, The Paintings of P.A. de Laszlo, London, 1969, monochrome ill. pl. 21

•MacDonogh, Katharine, Reigning Cats and Dogs, A History of Pets at Court since the Renaissance, London, 1999, ill. between pp. 256-7

•De Laszlo, Sandra ed., & Christopher Wentworth-Stanley, asst. ed., A Brush with Grandeur, Paul Holberton publishing, London 2004, p. 106, ill.

•Field, Katherine ed., Transcribed by Susan de Laszlo, The Diaries of Lucy de László Volume I: (1890-1913), de Laszlo Archive Trust, 2019, p. 174, ill.

•DLA007-0053, letter from Lady Muriel Herbert to de László, 4 December 1909

•V&A National Art Library, letter from de László to Lady Muriel Herbert, Lockinge House, Wantage, Berks. 13 December 1909

•László, Lucy de, 1911 diary, 2 January entry, p. 1 (& subsequent)

CC 2008