Belgian School, mid 19th centuryOil on canvas Painting depicting a Bernese mountain dog set in the environment where they are most suited:. the mountains. The painting also shows details indicating possible scenarios of the setting, for example the rope portrayed on top of a rock in the lower left corner may in fact suggest that the dog is waiting for the return of the master who is climbing in the mountains.The painting is signed and dated in the lower left, where the inscription reads: "Zacharie Noterman 1866." The Belgian artist spent most of his life in Paris where he became famous for his portraits of animals, a very popular style in the eighteenth century, which Zacharie and his brother and teacher, Emmanuel, continued into the next century.Original moulded walnut frame. lxh 147 x 114 cm