Dalliance With a Dog 1784

Editor: Thomas Rowlandson's etching, "Dalliance With a Dog," presents a pastoral scene, but there's a playful tension in the figures' arrangement and the dog's alert posture. What symbolic readings do you find in it? Curator: Rowlandson often used animals to mirror or mock human behavior. The dog here, a traditional symbol of fidelity, is perhaps comically undermined. What emotions are evoked when you consider how his music affects her? Editor: I see, so the dog's presence and the music create a layered commentary on courtship, fidelity, and perhaps even deception. Thanks! Curator: Exactly! Symbols evolve, and Rowlandson plays with those associations. It's been a pleasure exploring this with you.