Cats in Art: Children Playing and Merrymaking (Molenaer)

From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art.  Having moved on from Stefano Zuffi's marvelous work, The Cat in Art, I am now using some ideas from Caroline Bugler's equally impressive book, The Cat/3500 Years of the Cat in Art.  

This is the second of a series of posts featuring some art from Jan Miense Moleaer, a Dutch artist from the middle 1600s.

Image credit The Aetheneum, Children Playing and Merrymaking, Jan Miense Molenaer.  
And the mandatory close up of the very upset kitty on the top of the barrel:

Just a couple of comments.  First, the artist was only 22 when he painted this image.  Let that sink in a moment.  Twenty-two years old.

I can barely take a photo at my age, much less paint a priceless work of art!

Second, like the happy image of Dutch children from 2 weeks ago, again we have happy kids...and a very unhappy cat.  See, despite their natural grace and effortless movement, cats have no sense of rhythm.  They just don't dance, so this poor feline is waaaaay out of his/her element.

[Gary note: With my Cats in Arts posts, I encourage you to scope out the art appreciation site Artsy (I have no financial interest in the site, I just like it), where you can explore many aspects of the world of art.  You'll certainly be entertained and enlightened!]