Cats in Art: The Fruit and Vegetable Seller (Moillon)

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.  You really should check out and/or own both of these wonderful works, easily available on Amazon or eBay (and I have no financial interest).

The bride and I just returned from a wonderful vacation in France this fall where we were privileged to see both the Louvre and Orsay Museums.  Of the two, the Orsay was much better--less crowded, could get closer to the paintings, more cats.

Image credit The Athenaeum, The Fruit and Vegetable Seller, Louise Moillon, 1630, oil on canvas, 47" x 66", held by The Louvre, Paris, France.

And the kitty close-up:

Again the bride and I did not lay eyes on this actual painting.  This poor kitty would love to have been "owned" by say a fish or meat seller....but no, the mistress had to sell veggies and fruits.  Not a very thrilling lifestyle, but obviously the cat got something out of the deal.

The contrast between the women is striking: the higher society purchaser on the left, as evidenced by her fine clothing, and the common woman fruit and vegetable seller to the right.  No eye contact, just a transaction.  But the seller has the kitty, so she is the winner.


[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!]