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"path": "/2026/02/12/medieval-painters-gave-dogs-human-faces-to-symbolize-cowardice.html",
"publishedAt": "2026-02-12T18:54:07.000Z",
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"tags": [
"Post",
"art",
"dog",
"gothic art",
"medieval art",
"Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon",
"painting",
"religious symbolism",
"_Retable de la Passion_",
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"Medieval painters gave dogs human faces to symbolize cowardice",
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"textContent": "\n\nIn the _Retable de la Passion_, an oil-on-wood altarpiece from around 1500, a small dog sits among the crowd at Christ's trial. It has grey stubble, a weak chin, and an expression that's unsettlingly human. The dog is Pontius Pilate. — Read the rest \n\nThe post Medieval painters gave dogs human faces to symbolize cowardice appeared first on Boing Boing.",
"title": "Medieval painters gave dogs human faces to symbolize cowardice"
}