Self Portrait Holding a Dog by Marie Louise Catherine Breslau
1891 / Oil on mahogany panel / 18”x15 1/3” / Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Strasbourg, France
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Previous December 6 posts:
December 6~ Animals in Art
Artist Birthday Quiz for 12/6~
The Misty Miss Christy 
Her expression has some Da Vinci-like quality I love. Nothing beats self portraits for intensity. Also I love the contrasting quiet surround to her face, in her torso and her pet.
I knew the minute I saw it that this was the painting I wanted to use.
This reader agrees!