White Dog

Images of dogs in the early modern period could have allegorical or moral meanings or simply offer literal portraits. Wenceslaus Hollar’s profile study of a popular type of dog likely presents its sitter as a status symbol as well as someone’s pet. While the untamed lion-like mane could belong to a small poodle, this engraving is sometimes thought to represent a Bolognese dog, an Italian breed owned by and portrayed with members of the Gonzaga family in the sixteenth century and later idolized by Catherine the Great of Russia.