The Greyhounds of the Comte de Choiseul

Here, Gustave Courbet shows two greyhounds with an aristocratic bearing. Perhaps they reflect characteristics of their owner, the young Count de Choiseul, who had proudly commissioned their portrait. The artist was a noted animal painter and often represented animals with human-like emotions. The elegant greyhounds are viewed from below to emphasize their height. They are silhouetted against the expansive shore of Deauville on the Normandy coast in France, where Courbet spent the summer of 1866 as a guest of the Count.