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“Ludo” Oil of a Brussels Griffon by Édouard Paul Mérite (German / French, 1867 – 1941) An oil on board of “Ludo” a seated Brussels Griffon by Édouard Paul Mérite (German / French, 1867 – 1941) Signed bottom right “Mérite” French, circa 1900.
It is believed by Bruxellois Griffon historians and authorities Jeffery Bazell and Jeffery Kestner, see their book “The Definitive Brussels Griffon”, that this is Mérite’s dog “Ludo”. It was bred by Mary Cassatt's friend Anton Chervil, through dogs that passed down from Vicomte Lepic's famous dog "Smousje." That dog was the subject for many of Edgar Degas' works featuring the breed. Edgar Degas' portrait of Ludovic-Napoléon holding his Griffon is owned by the Cleveland Museum of Art.
In their heyday there were over 2500 breeding bitches in the greater Brussels area, another 1500 in Brabant and over 1000 breeding bitches in Antwerp. They were especially favoured by artists of the day. Such owners included Edgar Degas, Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Mary Cassatt, Ludovic-Napoléon Lepic, Otto Eerelman, and Toulouse Lautrec and many other lesser known artists owned Griffons from the period of 1874-1915.
{We acknowledge this information to Jeffery Bazell and Jeffery Kestner}
Images are available for public use and research with an acknowledgement to www.hamsheregallery.com
SIMILAR REQUIRED
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