About This Style
The Brothers is a deadpan portrait, and the deadpan is the entire craft of it.
Two animals sit shoulder to shoulder in identical charcoal three piece suits with waistcoats and plain black bow ties, facing the viewer straight on. Nothing about the painting is winking at you. The brushwork is serious fine art oil, the lighting is serious, the expressions are dead serious. That gap between how formally the picture is made and what is actually in it is what makes people laugh out loud, and it keeps working long after a novelty portrait would have stopped being funny.
The matching suits are doing something specific: they say these two belong to the same outfit. It reads as brothers, as business partners, as a double act, and people project whichever one fits their two animals. It is at its funniest when the two are physically mismatched, a long low animal beside a small compact one, both dressed identically and both taking it extremely seriously.
Not restricted to dogs, and not restricted to males, whatever the name suggests. Two cats in matching suits is, if anything, worse, in the best possible way.
It has become one of the most common wedding and engagement gifts we make, for an obvious reason: two animals in matching formal wear is already a wedding party, and the couple usually recognise which one of the pair is which. If you want the suits and ties in the colours of the day, say so when you order.
The other thing worth knowing is that this style holds up on a wall better than most comedy portraits do. Because the painting itself is made completely straight, with real brushwork and real light, the picture stays worth looking at once the joke has stopped being new. That is the difference between something that ends up in a hallway and something that ends up in a drawer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this only work for two male dogs?
No. The name describes the double act, not the animals. Two cats, two dogs, one of each, any combination of sexes. The composition is about two matched figures in matching suits taking themselves very seriously.
Can I choose the colour of the suits?
Yes. The default is charcoal grey with plain black bow ties, which is the most reliably funny version. Note an alternative in the order comments and we will build it that way.
Is this a good gift for a wedding or a groomsmen photo?
It is one of the most requested reasons for it. Two pets in matching formal wear reads immediately as a wedding party joke, and it lands well as an engagement gift or as a present from the couple to each other. Tell us the wedding colours in the comments if you want the suits and ties to match the day.