“Stop and observe this intimate portrayal of companionship between a man and his loyal dog, captured in a moment of quiet reflection. The painting's soft light and subdued palette invite you to share in their peaceful, shared presence.”
In "Old friends," a man and his dog share a quiet moment, their forms bathed in soft, natural light. The setting appears to be a simple, perhaps rural, interior, suggested by the rustic wooden table and the unadorned wall behind them. The man, with his head gently resting on his hand, gazes downward, perhaps lost in thought, while the dog, a shaggy companion, looks up at him with an expression of unwavering loyalty. This painting, created late in Valdemar Irminger's life in 1936, captures a tender, everyday scene, reflecting a shift in his style towards a more romantic sensibility in his later career. The subdued palette and focus on the intimate bond between man and animal invite contemplation, making the viewer a silent observer of this private connection.
- Artist
- Valdemar Irminger
- Date
- 1936
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
What to Notice
Five details hide in plain sight. Here’s where to look.

The man's hand, softly supporting his head, suggests a moment of quiet reflection.
The dog's gaze, directed upward at the man, highlights their close bond.
The simple wooden table, anchoring the scene with its rustic presence.
The subtle play of light across the man's face and the dog's fur.
1 more detail is waiting.
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Valdemar Irminger
1850–1938 · Kingdom of DenmarkIrminger painted children at a Danish hospital with such tenderness that the works won him back-to-back Academy medals in 1888 and 1889.
Further Works by Irminger
Landscape with a red deer stag and two hinds.
1869
All Saints' Day. A widower in a cemetary for the poor in Rome.
1886 · Kunsten Museum of Modern Art Aalborg
A roaring lion in the Colosseum.
1886
From the Old Colosseum
1888 · ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum
En tilgivelse
1892 · Statens Museum for Kunst
Over midnat
1894 · Statens Museum for Kunst
The girl and the kitten.
1895
Dameportræt
1896 · Statens Museum for Kunst
More works to explore
Beyond Irminger: works from the same years.
Same era · 1920s–1950s
Lozenge Composition with Yellow, Black, Blue, Red, and Gray
Piet Mondrian · 1921 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1920s–1950s
Deux personnages
Pierre Alechinsky · 1950
Same era · 1920s–1950s
Nude
Ivan Puni · 1931 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1920s–1950s
American Gothic
Okada Saburosuke · 1930 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1920s–1950s
Straße mit Passanten bei Nachtbeleuchtung
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner · 1927 · Museum Frieder Burda
Same era · 1920s–1950s
The Indestructibles
Philip Evergood · 1946 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1920s–1950s
A Chemist Lifting with Extreme Precaution the Cuticle of a Grand Piano
Salvador Dalí · 1936 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1920s–1950s
Woman at an Easel (Green Screen)
Georges Braque · 1936 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1920s–1950s
Garden Airplane-Trap
Max Ernst · 1935 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1920s–1950s
On the Threshold of Liberty
René Magritte · 1937 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1920s–1950s
Two Women on the Shore
Edvard Munch · 1935 · Munch Museum
Same era · 1920s–1950s
Women Harvesting
Paul Klee · 1937 · Art Institute of Chicago
