a dog enjoying a garden party c 1830

thanks wikimedia commons and photographer daderot. (PD)

In a gracious, sunlit garden a family enjoys some time together.  They've included their dog, who is clearly enjoying his seat next to one of the young daughters of the house.  A happy dog has a certain sort of calm wisdom about him, which you can see in this fellow's face:  I belong here, this is good, it is always good.  I must say I'm also fascinated by the difference in sure handling between the human figure and the dog, as the latter is much more expertly portrayed.  Yet this is a detail from a work by the successful Austrian portraitist Wendelin Moosbrugger from Family in Garden, c. 1830.