Man met zijn mopshond en zijn hospita 1791

Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki's etching presents us with a scene brimming with domestic tension, crystallized around the figure of the pug. The pug, a symbol of fidelity and luxury, sits at the feet of its master, a man seemingly caught in a transaction with his landlady. Yet, the pug's presence is more than mere ornamentation; it’s a loaded signifier. Recall the Roman canis pugnaces, war dogs later softened into lapdogs of the elite. We see echoes of this domestication in the portraits of European nobility, where pugs symbolized loyalty and status. But here, the pug's beady eyes seem to observe a shift in power. Is it a silent witness to economic realities undermining social decorum? Like the vanitas skulls reminding us of mortality, the pug, too, carries a weight, a cultural memory of shifting fortunes and societal expectations. It evokes a deep, subconscious understanding of our own precarious place within the social hierarchy.