Cats in Art: The Idle Servant (Maes)

From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. I am using some ideas from the coffee table book, The Cat in Art, by Stefano Zuffi.  This is the second week in a row that I'll feature the work of Nicolas Maes, with yet another bad kitty misbehaving.

Image credit Web Gallery of Art, The Idle Servant, Nicolas Maes, 1655, oil on panel, 28" x 21", held by National Gallery, London.

And a close up of the infamous idle servant, plus the bonus kitty:

Again, a misbehaving kitty taking advantage of a human lapse.  Looks like the cat is going to make off with a small chicken or piece of meat.  The mistress or head servant seems rather unconcerned, even bemused, by the dozing young lady, despite the mess on the floor that needs cleaned yup.  The boss might not be so complacent if she saw the kitty's evil deed in progress somewhat behind her.

As we saw last week, Maes--a student of Rembrandt--uses diffuse light to focus our attention on the primary elements of the scene, letting the background recede into darkness.

The Web Gallery of Art site offers this analysis, which kinda leaps out at you once you read it:

Maes's personal contribution is the emphasis he places upon creating the illusion of interior space in which the scene is set. Here the stress on the expanse of the floor is not fully successful - the pots and dishes are dangerously close to sliding off it.

Once you read that, the floor definitely seems slanted and the dishes look about to tumble onto the viewer's lap!  But at least the cat seems stable on the cupboard.

Cats in Art: Woman Plucking a Duck (Maes)

From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. The bride and I visited the Philadelphia Museum of Art recently, so the next few Sunday Cats in Art posts will be from that museum. We thoroughly enjoyed looking around the galleries for cats.

Photo by Gary of painting at Philadelphia Museum of Art, Woman Plucking a Duck, Nicolaes Maes, 1655-56, oil canvas, 23" x 26", held by Philadelphia Museum of Art.  See museum's image here.

 

The cat is obviously distressed by having a duck--prey--mere inches away and being unable to get it.

 

This is one good kitty, showing the restraint that it does.

 

 

Cats in Art: The Idle Servant (Maes)

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.  Click on image to enlarge.

The Idle servant, Nicolas Maes, 1655, oil on wood, 27" x 21", held by National Gallery, London, England.

Zuffi's interpretation:

A versatile painter who created powerful images, Maes was one of the most talented of Rembrandt's many pupils...If the cook falls asleep, many problems may arise, causing her dutiful colleague to smile (almost a secular version of the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins).  One such problem is the fact that the household cat, always on the prowl, is allowed free rein.

See, cats know that every thing in and around a house is for them.  Free rein indeed--it's just the way things are or should be, at least according to the cat.