Cats in art: The Supper at Emmaus (Bassano)

From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. I'm using some ideas from the coffee table book, The Cat in Art, by Stefano Zuffi.

Image credit here.  The Supper at Emmaus, Jacopo Bassano, 1537, Oil on canvas, 92" x 98", held by Cittadella Cathedral, Padua, Italy.   

Zuffi makes an interesting observation:

Cats are often present under the table in scenes from the Gospels painted during the Renaissance.  It is not always necessary to seek symbolic meanings at all costs; sometimes they are simply realistic touches.

The cat in the lower left seems angry and confrontational, wondering what the resting dog may do.  So sometimes a cat is just being a cat, even in priceless art of antiquity.