A dog sits below a woman, maybe low enough to see up her skirt, or low enough to pounce on her in order to get the chocolate cake on the table. This painting embodies the lingering vulgarity that is spread elsewhere in the show, a feeling of whatever is happening shouldn’t be happening - like being alone in a room with a dog you don’t know. The dog in this show is many things, the Id, our sexuality, our anxieties or even our libido. But here, we are frozen in place wondering whether the dog will go for the crouch or cake - thinking, it would be crazy if this dog was looking at this figure’s vagina. That attraction, of looking at someone interesting, feels to me like this lingering vulgarity. Or worse that someone finds you interesting, and you become frozen in fear or disbelief.
Also classic me, the cake is a reminder of humanity - I always think cakes are parallel to humans as you get your own cake on your birthday, so it becomes a symbol of one’s selfhood.