This newly discovered picture represents an significant addition to the oeuvre of the rare Frisian artist Dirck de Horn. Thus far his oeuvre consist of no more than a handful of still lifes of game and fruits and a vanitas still life, most of them in the collection of the Fries Museum, Leeuwarden.

With this animated depiction of a watchful Spaniel guarding his bone, the artist demonstrates his ability to portray a living animal. Seen from a low viewpoint the dog dominates the space, granting a monumentality to the scene. The Spaniel’s alertness and sensitivity are so well rendered in this intimate portrait by De Horn, that one can easily suggest the artist must have been familiar with the dog.

De Horn was raised in a family of painters, where his father taught him and his brothers the art of painting. Because of the noticeable influence of still lifes by David Bailly it has been suggested he may have continued his education in Leiden, however little is known of his career. He is documented to have held various public positions in his native town of Leeuwarden.