Renaissance Dogs: A Litter of Hilarious Pups, Mutts, and Hounds

Delight in over 100 hilarious depictions of man’s best friend—from sweetly puppish to downright demonic—produced between 1400–1700 by the Renaissance’s greatest painters.

Our four-legged friends have witnessed the creation of some of history’s greatest works: Shakespeare’s plays, da Vinci’s masterpieces, the Sistine Chapel, the first printed book, and even the flushable toilet. Behind the achievements of every great innovator is their dog: sometimes enthusiastically looking on, at other times asleep. Or chewing a bone. Or sniffing another dog’s bum...

Renaissance Dogs celebrates not just the delightfully odd-looking doggy depictions of the era but also our insistence on ensuring our furry friends’ place in history alongside our own. This carefully curated, full-color compendium of over 100 canine portraits immortalizes a wide array of pups, from the creepily humanoid dogs of the early Renaissance period (painted by artists who, clearly, had never seen a dog in their life) to the beautifully rendered canines of the Enlightenment.

Enjoy a humorous peek into Renaissance art and literature with witty captions, interesting dog facts, and excerpts from famous literary works accompanying astoundingly funny portrayals of our favorite canine companions.