The Pillar-Biter (1509-1517), seen on the lower part of the choir screen of St. Bavo Church, Haarlem, the Netherlands.
A common motif in late medieval and early modern Northern European art is the “pillar-biter.” Usually, the pillar-biter is depicted as a man who clings to a column while biting into it, but there are also representations of men and women who embrace or kiss columns. In the iconographic literature, the motif is usually linked to religious hypocrisy and the dissimulation of piety.
[Image found here, caption here.]
[Update: Another pillar-biter from the same church, found here.]
Tacky Raccoons 