naptime

Gift of Bishop Monad, 1869
https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/

This peaceful scene is an etching on blue paper from the late-Baroque artist Francesco Londonio (Italian, primarily Milan, 1723-1783).

jordaens feels sympathy for an expecting mom, 1638

courtesy www.rijkmesum.nl

Flemish painter Jacob Jordaens (1593-1678) was apprenticed to the same painter that taught Rubens.  Unlike Rubens, Jordaens stayed close to home in Antwerp, creating large history commissions and portraits.  Some of those portraits were of royalty.  Some humbler portraits were of dogs, like this one executed in red and black chalks in 1638.  Here Jordaens spent some time sketching a pregnant dog; the Rijksmuseum thinks she's probably a vizla, a Hungarian breed famed for hunting ability.

in which a duke's dog asserts himself

Nicasius Bernaerts [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

France, 1665: the Flemish animal portraitist Nicasius Bernaerts paints the majestic "Tambon, dog of the Duke of Vendome."  What about that other dog?  Is he simply there to be repressed?
Bernaerts was known for hunting scenes portrayed with energy and even violence, and also for animal portraits that showed close attention to the anatomy of the animal portrayed; in fact Louis XIV hired him to create portraits of all the newest animals at the Versailles menagerie.  Here in this beautiful (and sizable: 50" x 37") oil on canvas, there's no overt violence, but the smaller dog is deeply distressed by Tambon's checking paw.  Is that a reference to Tambon's master?
Which Duke of Vendome claimed this animal and by extension his power?  There were two Dukes of Vendome in 1665: Cesar de Bourbon, and then at his death in October, his son Louis de Bourbon.  I think it had to be Cesar, as Louise had entered the church in 1657 after the death of his wife.  Not that this was any major obstacle to owning a fine dog or anything else at that time and place.

a precious beggar

The Jack and Belle Linsky Collection, 1982 (The Metropolitan Museum of Art CC0 1.0)

Once upon a time, someone with a sense of humor and a healthy income had this pearly mooch for a pendant. Its design and craft has been attributed to a Spanish goldsmith working around 1580 to 1590, a late Renaissance piece, when pendants were a very popular form of jewelry.  Here's a pretty good page on this subject.

rembrandt observes a dog trying to make a friend

thanks wikiart.org (PD)

1636: Rembrandt does what he does best - capturing a small moment of life that evokes a great deal of feeling.  This is his sketch of "A Woman with a Child Frightened by a Dog." What monstrous canine are we going to find?  Why, it's only a greyhound, with a foot tentatively forward, and nose raised in what looks like a curious sniff.  I've seen both cats and dogs do this to little kids, as if they smell differently from adult humans.  Meanwhile, the toddler is not thrilled at this beast who is up in his face, benign intent or not, yet the woman is marvelously portrayed as sheltering the little one while brokering the meeting of dog and child.  If she was worried, she'd be throwing more of her body between the two, but she's smiling.  Up above, somebody in a turban is watching the whole thing like it's television.  I suppose back then the streets were everyone's television.
This is what I love about Rembrandt.  He has a way of making the smallest gestures capture you at a gut level.  I've sheltered kiddies while they decide about dogs.  I've explained to my dog that not everybody will love you right away.  For another example of Rembrandt's ability to capture deep human feeling with the merest of motions, please see "The Jewish Bride."

glorious plumage

courtesy wikimedia commons (PD)

Yes, I mean both sets of plumage, as Massimo Stanzione has celebrated them in this 1635 portrait of a "Woman in Neapolitan Costume."  Look, here's a page on Italian chickens. I think her friend is an Ancona.  How about you?