Canine muses: The English bull terrier who helped transform her owner from 'a photographer into an artist'

'The dog, independent of the beauty of his figure, his strength, vivacity, and nimbleness, possesses every internal excellence which can attract the regard of man,’ wrote Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1707–88). Whether in the works of Landseer, Gainsborough, Hogarth or 20th-century artists such as Lucian Freud or David Hockney, dogs are a perennially popular subject for creatives, offering a touching insight into the connection between Man and his best friend, but, perhaps more importantly, into the private life of the artist.

A muse is like a gentle nudge from the universe, igniting creativity and spurring great works. Yet for some, their muse is a gentle nudge, from a cold wet nose. The canine muse undoubtedly contributes to the spiritual and artistic wellbeing of their master or mistress, as well as being a faithful companion.

‘From the start, Claire was “different” to all our other dogs,’ reveals visual artist Alice van Kempen. ‘The others were naughty and up to no good, but we didn’t have to keep an eye on Claire — we joke she was born 12 years old.’

Van Kempen grew up in a small farming community surrounded by animals in the northern Netherlands and has kept bull terriers for more than 30 years. It was homebred Claire, however, a white bitch, that would propel her mistress’s career into the limelight when she revealed a flair for modelling.

‘As a little puppy, Claire loved to pose for the camera. Our other dogs walked away or looked deeply uninterested, but she immediately understood what I wanted from her — we made a great team,’ recalls van Kempen. ‘When she was about a year and a half, I took her with me to an abandoned building. My intention was to photograph the interiors, but Claire jumped up on a chair and demanded my attention — she simply asked to be photographed.’

The result of this blossoming working relationship was ‘Furbex’ — a series of images of Claire posing in abandoned buildings (‘urbex’ being an abbreviation for urban exploration combined with ‘fur’ for Claire). For more than 11 years, they travelled around the Continent together, exploring derelict sites from crumbling castles and ruined hotels to eerie prisons and forgotten theatres. Van Kempen credits Claire with coming up with several of the poses herself and, to her amazement, the bull terrier always looked straight at the camera (unless she was instructed otherwise) and she could even lock eyes with the lens via her own reflection in a mirror.

Her favourite photograph from the series, taken in a tiny tavern in Portugal, is titled Vincent van Gogh’s bedroom (above). Van Kempen employed a long shutter speed and a panoramic technique to capture a space that is almost identical to that painted by the post-Impressionist artist of his yellow house in Arles, France. ‘I tried to imitate the atmosphere of van Gogh’s bedroom, but with one difference — Claire had made herself comfortable on the bed,’ explains van Kempen.

Sadly, Claire died in January, so van Kempen’s Furbex adventures are over for now, but she is working on a new project influenced by antique dog portraits. ‘Claire was a great inspiration and she transformed me from a photographer into an artist,’ says van Kempen. ‘It was a pleasure to work with her because you could see she enjoyed it immensely. I consider myself incredibly lucky for having a dog like her in my life.’

Coming up: Lucian Freud and his whippet, Pluto, David Hockney and his dachshunds, Stanley and Boodgie, and Craigie Aitchison and his Bedlington terriers.

Best of the rest canine muses

• Lucian Freud’s grandfather, Sigmund Freud, allowed his favorite chow-chow, Jo-Fi, to attend all of his therapy sessions as he felt dogs had a special sense that allowed them to judge a person’s character accurately
• English artist Tirzah Garwood (Mrs Eric Ravilious) kept a mischievous feline muse called Erskine. Named after one of Henry Swanzy’s uncles, the intrepid tabby cat would frequently return from his nightly adventures etched with battle scars
• Pablo Picasso was a great lover of dogs and affectionately referred to his dachshund Lump as one of his muses. Lump appeared in numerous paintings, including several versions of Velázquez’s Las Meninas, where he replaced the dog in the original artwork
• Frida Kahlo frequently depicted animals in her artwork, sometimes incorporating them into her self-portraits. Serving as both pets and muses, the Mexican artist owned spider monkeys, an Amazon parrot, a fawn and, appropriately, a Mexican hairless, Mr Xoloti
• American artist William Wegman is best known for his ongoing artistic collaborations with his elegant Weimaraners, his lifelong muses