What do dogs do in art? A dazzlingly original cultural history from the Cundill Prize-winning historian
Long before the phrase 'man's best friend' became common parlance, dogs were already standing beside us in art as in life. In The Dog's Gaze, the historian Thomas W. Laqueur invites us to explore why they feature more than any other animal in the ways in which we picture ourselves and our stories.
Dogs have been ubiquitous in the worldmaking of visual artists as far back as the Palaeolithic age. Looking across the western tradition, from Giotto to Goya and Rubens to Rego, Laqueur shows what their presence - as hunting partners, beloved friends and even conduits to the afterlife - reveals about our own ways of seeing and how we want to be remembered. Far from being mere motifs, dogs are an integral and intentional element of the images in which they appear: they provide narrative coherence; they look out and bear witness, often on the artist's behalf; they illuminate our understanding of morality and melancholy and some, like us, become celebrities. Indeed, as the author shows, dogs in art are our social doppelgängers, our companions in looking and being.
Richly illustrated and lovingly written, The Dog's Gaze is a unique visual history that examines the shared social history of our two species and offers fresh insights into the human condition through the eyes of our canine companions.
| ISBN: | 9780241729083 |
| Publication date: | 7th May 2026 |
| Author: | Thomas Walter Laqueur |
| Publisher: | Allen Lane an imprint of Penguin Books Ltd |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 400 pages |
| Genres: |
History of art Animals in art Social and cultural history Dogs as pets |
What do dogs do in art? A dazzlingly original cultural history from the Cundill Prize-winning historian
Long before the phrase 'man's best friend' became common parlance, dogs were already standing beside us in art as in life. In The Dog's Gaze, the historian Thomas W. Laqueur invites us to explore why they feature more than any other animal in the ways in which we picture ourselves and our stories.
Dogs have been ubiquitous in the worldmaking of visual artists as far back as the Palaeolithic age. Looking across the western tradition, from Giotto to Goya and Rubens to Rego, Laqueur shows what their presence - as hunting partners, beloved friends and even conduits to the afterlife - reveals about our own ways of seeing and how we want to be remembered. Far from being mere motifs, dogs are an integral and intentional element of the images in which they appear: they provide narrative coherence; they look out and bear witness, often on the artist's behalf; they illuminate our understanding of morality and melancholy and some, like us, become celebrities. Indeed, as the author shows, dogs in art are our social doppelgängers, our companions in looking and being.
Richly illustrated and lovingly written, The Dog's Gaze is a unique visual history that examines the shared social history of our two species and offers fresh insights into the human condition through the eyes of our canine companions.
The Dog's Gaze features in the following genres: History of art, Animals in art, Social and cultural history, Dogs as pets
The Dog's Gaze is available in Hardback
The Dog's Gaze was written by Thomas Walter Laqueur and published by Allen Lane an imprint of Penguin Books Ltd
The Dog's Gaze has 400 pages
£31.50