Did St. Bernard dogs ever carry small wooden kegs of brandy around their necks?

gonnzo

Probably not, it seems to be a persistent myth that sprung from an 1820 painting, "Alpine Mastiffs Reanimating a Distressed Traveller” by Edwin Landseer. http://www.null-hypothesis.co.uk/science//item/top_inventions_st_bernard_brandy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Bernard_dog#In_media Oct 15 08, 6:35 AM

cdrock00

According to the website below and numerous other sources, Saint Bernards do not and never have carried small wooden kegs of brandy around their necks. The notion derives from a painting by Edwin Landseer, portraying the dogs with barrels around their necks. http://www.null-hypothesis.co.uk/science/item/top_inventions_st_bernard_brandy Oct 15 08, 6:36 AM

author

Here is the picture. What bothers me, is that seems to be a quite "realistic" painter, so why on earth did he paint the St. Bernard dog with a keg of brandy if he hadn't seen one? http://store.encore-editions.com/artists/danh7BC138spart.html Oct 15 08, 10:56 AM

zbeckabee

The St. Bernards of St. Bernard’s have never and most likely will never carry small kegs of brandy around their necks – this popular conception is thanks entirely to the overactive imagination of an English painter, Edwin Landseer. In 1820, when just 17 years old, Landseer produced a painting called “Alpine Mastiffs Reanimating a Distressed Traveller”. The dog he painted wore a small barrel around its neck – a barrel which he claimed contained brandy. The public’s imagination was caught and the image endured. http://www.null-hypothesis.co.uk/science//item/top_inventions_st_bernard_brandy Painting in question: http://www.globalgallery.com/enlarge/038-78166/ Oct 15 08, 1:02 PM