Wandering through Chicago’s Art Institute and noticing in one of the galleries - Dutch masters - that frequently, the same type of dog appears in many different artists’ work – sort of a brown & white mutt. Why?
Sometimes that means that the woman is faithful.
Johannes Vermeer’s The Love Letter contained many
symbols that would have been easily understood at the time, including a dog (symbolizing
loyalty or fidelity) …
https://www.vanartgallery.bc.ca/pdfs/Dutch%20Masters%20Study%20Guide.pdf
I don’t know the answer to your question but have noticed a curious number of Dutch paintings of that time with dogs wondering around chirches. My favourite is the one about half way down this page. You’ll see why it’s the instance I like the best!
Since this is about art, let’s move it to Cafe Society.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
Do you mean a Kooikerhondje, as, for example, in this painting?