愛德華‧馬內（Edouard Manet，1832－1883）以描繪都會生活著稱，他觀察的題材並不限於人物，也包含以犬、貓為主的馴養動物。他的動物畫呈現頗多觀看角度與技法的變化，有待深入探討。馬內的犬圖包含模仿十七世紀的貴族獵犬、十九世紀巴黎中產階級的寵物，以及平民階級的表演犬，人犬組合的類型頗多。他描繪的犬種與姿態相當準確，並透過人物以及背景細節呈現不同的活動類型或跨物種友誼。本文探討馬內的名犬肖像，對照十九世紀犬類培育的議題，以解釋馬內如何觀察動物智能和表情，回應當時自然史與生物學的辯論。本文認為這批犬像運用了生物學者有關動物心智的辯論，探索人與動物的共通性，從而開拓了肖像畫的新領域。

Manet’s depiction of urban subjects and figures are frequently seen as images representative of modern life, however he also painted a number of works depicting animals under diverse perspectives. Rendered with various techniques, the majority of these images represent cats and dogs, and deserve thorough investigation. Manet’s dog paintings, from copies after seventeenth-century hunting dogs of the aristocracy to contemporary Parisian pets and dog artists of the popular classes, demonstrate a spectrum of human-canine relationships. His vigorous depiction of dog breeds and gestures is combined with a variety of human figures or background details, and thereby illuminates differerent types of activities and interspecific friendship. This essay explores Manet’s dog portraits within the context of dog design of the nineteenth century, and how Manet observed animal intelligence and expression in relation to contemporary debates in natural history and biology. The author contends that in his dog portraits Manet responded to biologists’ debates in regard to animal intelligence and emotion, and reconsidered the commonalities of humans and animals. In so doing, he substantially expanded the art of portraiture.

馬內; 達爾文; 犬; 肖像; 自然史

Manet; Darwin; dog; portrait; natural history