Photographs often reflect the stereotypes of their time, and before Kodak, we had portraits. Historically, “real men” were painted with their hounds, mastiffs and gun dogs, while the ladies held dainty little comfort dogs in their laps. Good for Federico Gonzaga, then, for shaking up expectations. The Duke of Mantua had this portrait painted by Tiziano Vecellio (we know him as Titian) with a sword in one hand, and his Maltese in the other, and he was fine with it.  Gonzaga’s patronage of the arts was surpassed only by his love of dogs, and he was said to have had over 100 in his life.

In this particular portrait, the duke was said to be negotiating marriage terms. The dog was his favorite at the time, but its presence also hinted at marital fidelity.  Art historians say that the way the dog recognizes its master would have been seen as a conventional tribute to the power of portraiture to achieve a vivid likeness.