The BRUSSELS GRIFFON
In the early 1800s, the coachmen of Brussels kept small, feisty terriers in their stables to manage the rat population. Scrappy, courageous, and full of opinions, these wire-coated little dogs were the unlikely starting point for one of the most distinctive toy breeds in dogdom.
The turning point came in the 1870s when Queen Henrietta Maria of Belgium took a liking to them. Royal patronage has a way of changing a breed's trajectory overnight. The rough stable dog was refined, the face made more humanlike, and suddenly the Griff was a lapdog of the upper classes. By 1910 the AKC had registered its first Brussels Griffon. Like so many European breeds, both World Wars nearly wiped them out, and their survival today is owed entirely to dedicated enthusiasts in the US and Britain who refused to let them disappear.
What makes the Griff so immediately recognizable is the face. Large dark eyes that read as almost human, a neat beard and mustache, and an expression that suggests they have strong feelings about everything. They come in four colors and two coat types — rough, like a Schnauzer, or smooth, like a Pug — but regardless of variety, the look is unmistakable.
Despite the aristocratic bearing, they are sociable, playful, and easily trained. They are also deeply devoted to their people and have little patience for being left out. Compact, sturdy, and moving with the purposeful confidence of a dog twice their size, the Brussels Griffon packs a remarkable amount of personality into a very small package.
For this entry I painted the Brussels Griffon twice, because one painting couldn't tell the whole story. The first places a red rough-coat on the cobblestones outside a Brussels carriage house — back where the breed began, doing the job they were bred for. The second is a black rough-coat on a velvet cushion in a wood-paneled room, very much the aristocratic companion the breed became. Together they trace the arc from stable ratter to royal lapdog in a single glance.
A Storyscape painting of a Brussels Griffon in a royal environment.