Some History about People and Pet Portraits

There is a long history of portrait pictures, especially depictions people with their pets. 

This specialist form evolved from symbolic inclusions of animals in ancient paintings to Renaissance portraits. 

In these cases animals often represented loyalty, status, or domestic harmony. They were however, more open to manipulation from the artist’s impression and imagination.

Then in the 1840s, the form moved on to more realistic and intimate captured moments in early photography with daguerreotypes. 

For the first time technology allowed true-to-life, accessible images of the human-pet bond. 

Victorian-era portraits and paintings often showed children with their pets, especially dogs and cats. 

These images highlighted innocence, family life, loyalty, and the growing love for pets in 19th-century Britain. 

Queen Victoria herself adored animals and helped make pet portraits popular, a tradition carried on in 2014 as we can see below.