Thank you for listening to The Dog Studio, where we discover that there is more to dogs than meets the eye.
I’m your host, Radek Blažo. Today, we’re stepping into the world of one of the most influential artists of the 20th century: Pablo Picasso, and his dogs. And if you are listening to this on the day that the episode was published, today is April 19th. Marking exactly 68 years since Picasso met his most famous dogs, the dachshound Lump.
But in the process of making this episode, I was happy to discover the role the dogs played with the artist was far from being just cherished companions. They were his muses. They inspired him, provoked him and some even destroyed his art.
But that’s not all. One of the dogs nearly helped the artist to offend the United States of America and cause an international incident. Stay tuned for this really interesting episode. This story is about dogs of Pablo Picasso.
“This was a love affair. Picasso would take the dog in his arms, feed him by hand. That little dog just took over—hell, he ran the damn house!”
This colourful quote comes from David Douglas Duncan talking about Picasso and his dachshund Lump -probably the most remarkable dog of Picasso´s life.
I have to say, personally. I wanted to do this story of Picasso and his dogs since I even had the idea for the podcast. Because ever since I was a young boy, always interested in dogs, I vividly remember seeing pictures of Picasso with this red, smooth haired dachshound in magazines. And they fascinated me.
Actually, all the pictures I am talking about were taken by David Douglas Duncan himself. He was the renowned American photographer, and also one of Picasso’s closest friends. For 17 years, Duncan captured intimate moments at Picasso’s villa La Californie, in the south of France. And he’s also the man who brought Lump, the dachshound, into Picasso’s world.
Well, “brought” might be putting it mildly—because Lump wasn’t actually gifted to Picasso. The dog was born in Germany in 1956 and adopted by Duncan. One day, he brought him along for a visit to Picasso. The two first met on April 19th, 1957. From that moment on, Lump decided where he wanted to live.
In Duncan’s own words, quote “As soon as he got out of the car, he dumped me for Picasso.”
Lump is not just another dog in Picasso´s life. He was THE dog in Picasso´s life. Reportedly he is the only dog that Picasso ever held in his arms. This was strange even for people who knew Picasso.
“You must understand, Picasso was Spanish, and they treat animals differently than you and I probably would,” This is a quote from Duncan describing Picasso’s attitude toward his animals. While Picasso loved them, he still regarded them as just animals.
This of course changed with Lumpo, or Lumpito, as the artist used to call him. The name actually means rascal in German. And indeed that is what he was.
He was the only dog in history that actually destroyed an original artwork from Pablo Picasso himself. And not only destroyed it. He devavoured it.
The story goes that once curious Picasso asked Duncan if Lump had ever seen a rabbit. “Never” was the answer. Well, dachshounds are a hunting breed and Picasso felt bad for Lump not living up to his roots.
Sensing a golden opportunity, Picasso quickly got to work. He found a cardboard box from sugary pastries and cut out a rabbit shape from it as a present for the dog. Without hesitation, the dog ate it.
“The dog who ate Picasso!” This is not just how Lump became remembered in the world. This is also the name of the book that Duncan published in 2006. The book is filled with photographs he took during Lump’s life with Picasso. It offers a stunning glimpse into the life of the maestro and his beloved little dog.
On the very first day of their meeting, Picasso painted Lump’s depiction on a ceramic plate. The plate was signed by the artist and given to Duncan as a gift that very same day. In his late years Duncan gifted this memory to The Ransom Centre in The University of Texas where you can see this plate to this day.
However, this was not the only plate Picasso painted for Lump. He always had personalised dish to eat from. Imagine that – a dog eating from an original Picasso! Some of these plates have been later sold at the auction for as much as 90 000 dollars.
Lump was the only creature, apart from Picasso´s wife Jacqline Roque who was allowed to join maestro at his studio. He truly lived a great life with the artist. He ate at the dinner table and in a funny twist, his favourite spot to pee in the garden was against a massive bronze statue of the artists. This was his personal urinal. He was allowed to do anything he liked.
Lump also appears in many of Picasso’s works. One of the most famous is the simple drawing of Lump. It’s his portrait in one continues line. This is one of the most tattooed art pieces in history.
But that is not all. Picasso also immortalized Lump in 15 of his reinterpretations of Velázquez’s Las Meninas.
This is a huge thing and kind of a rebellious act for Picasso himself. He was painting reinterpretations of the Spanish masterpiece. As Picasso was Spanish, the whole world waited to see what the results will be.
The original Spanish painting featured a majestic Estrella Mountain dog. This is a large, mastiff like breed, one of the Spanish national breeds of dogs.
When Picasso started to paint recreations of this historical piece, he painted 45 versions of it. And in 15 of them, he swapped the original big dog for Lump. Instead of the majestic symbol of Spanish pride, he placed his beloved little dachshund. This was kind of a funny twist to the paintings. And also quite a risk from a Spanish artist himself. But reportedly, Picasso did it on purpose to make sure Lump remains in the art history forever. And so he does.
Despite Lump’s glamorous life, there was one time when he almost lost his life. Once Duncan came to visit Picasso in his villa, but Lump was nowhere to be found. When asked about him, Picasso said the dog has become paralyzed and was taken to a vet.
Duncan got scared. Could this be the end of Lump? He was still a young dog and the thought of him being lost all of a sudden seemed like one he did not want to entertain. He immediately rushed to the vet clinique, not knowing whether he is going to say the last words to the dog, of if he will be alive at all.
After entering the hospital, Lump was still alive. He immediately recognized Duncan, rushed to meet him, hardly pulling his back legs limp on the floor. And despite this welcome. Lump was not himself. There was no spark in the dog, he was sad and far from the rascal Duncan used to know. He was also skinny. The vet said the dog does not want to eat. But Duncan had some crackers in his jacket and offered them to Lump. On the spot, the dog ate them like a starving beast. That´s when Duncan realized there is something wrong. Later in the interview he described it- quote “that son of a bitch vet was not feeding him, he gave up on him completely”.
He scooped Lump from the floor and immediately knew he has to find a different vet. He brought him to a specialized clinic in Germany, feeding him peanut crackers in the car during the journey. It took the specialist vet just a few minutes to determine that Lump was not paralyzed at all.
Although his recovery took several months, he eventually made a full comeback. However, he walked with a distinctive wobble afterward—“like a drunken soldier,” as Duncan described it.
The effort to save him was well worth it, as Lump went on to live another 10 years after his recovery.
But Lump wasn’t Picasso’s only canine companion. Dogs were a lifelong love for the artist. He grew up with them. There is a cardboard cutout of a dog that Picasso made at just 9 years of age. Now this piece is displayed in the Picasso Museum in Barcelona.
Over the years, Picasso had owned Dalmatians, terriers, and in his later years, developed a passion for the exotic Afghan hounds.
During a photo session in his studio, Picasso once asked the photographer about his Afghan hound: “Have you noticed that he can strike poses so extraordinary that one thinks of anything but a dog? Look at him from this angle. Doesn’t he look more like a shrimp than a dog?”
Clearly, Picasso was captivated by the artistic qualities and elegance of the breed.
One of his Afghan hounds, Kabul, named after the Afghanistan capitol, sparked an art-world controversy that put Picasso into a very unflattering position.
In 1967, Picasso was commissioned to create a sculpture to the City of Chicago. He later donated this piece and never took any money. He called it his gift to the city of Chicago. The art piece is a monumental 15-meter-tall sculpture placed at the Daley Plaza, in front of the Chicago Civic Center.
The sculpture is made in the cubist form. Picasso made a little model of the piece before the actual sculture was ever placed in Chicago. This flew around America. Nobody could figure out what it is. The public speculated, some people were offended. Media was shaken and the frenzy continued for many weeks.
On the day of unveiling the piece in Chicago, there were people protesting this piece and many were offended. Because Picasso himself never commented on the piece, the critics decided that for sure this is a bad depiction of a woman. A woman with a very long nose.
That is, until Duncan pointed out a striking resemblance to something else. He wrote an op ed. to the Chicago Tribune: “I burst into delighted laughter upon seeing an old friend—Kabul, Picasso’s indolent Afghan hound who had been sprawling around the maestro´s studio for years.”
What? Is this really a sculpture of a dog? Some critics accused Picasso of playing a joke on Chicago.
Author John Canaday expressed his sharp critique in an article titled “Picasso in the Wilderness,” published in The New York Times on August 27, 1967. Canaday was deeply offended by the notion that this unique work, meant to stand as one of the city’s artistic highlights, could be interpreted as a dog. He wrote, “As a dog portrait, the sculpture would be truly a cheap joke that some Chicagoans feel played upon them. The sculpture is reduced to a game of charades.”
The controversy surrounding the sculpture took months to settle. Ultimately, it was Duncan who resolved the mystery during a conversation with Picasso.
He later reflected “I told him, ‘It’s Kabul.’” Picasso looked at him and replied, “Of course it’s Kabul. Who else?”
Dogs were constants in Picasso’s life, right until the end. Lump passed away on March 29, 1973, at 17 years old. Ten days later, Picasso died, too. While the official cause was respiratory failure, one can’t help but wonder if a broken heart played a part as well.
As Duncan once said, “Picasso used to say that Lump was neither a dog nor a human. He was something else.”
Thank you for joining me on this episode of The Dog Studio. If you want to dive deeper into Picasso’s canine connections, visit our website for more resources. Don’t forget to follow, rate, and share this podcast—it helps us keep bringing you stories of dogs in history of mankind.
Until next time, enjoy your dogs.
Love Picasso and dogs? Check out Lump: The Dog Who Ate a Picasso by David Douglas Duncan. This book is packed with stunning photos and the heartwarming story of Picasso’s bond with his dachshund, Lump. Perfect as a gift or a unique addition to your library! Tune in to my podcast for more.And if you would love the famous print on your walls, too. You can also get it on Amazon, just click bellow.
