Pets on Paper: Cats and Dogs in Early Modern Europe
Leonardo da Vinci, keen observer of the natural world and major cat lover, said, “The smallest feline is a masterpiece.” Cats and dogs were as familiar in early modern Europe as they are today, providing in-house models and muses for artists. The surprising abundance of scholarship on pets depicted in art attests to their powerful impact on the imagination. Animals had long been depicted in natural history anthologies, but this rotation focuses on artistic renderings of such beasts rather than scientific studies of specimens. While domesticated animals were occasionally treated as the subject of a work, more often these creatures supported the artist’s larger iconographic, compositional or narrative goals.
At their most basic level, pets were portrayed as faithful and loving companions. Further, tamed animals and especially hounds also provided utility as hunters, variously aiding survival or sport. Additionally, popular literature such as fables featured canine and feline characters, often conveying a moralizing message through talking beasts that mimicked human actions. Artists also used cats and dogs as metaphors in religious and allegorical scenes. Typically, dogs symbolized loyalty while cats represented deceit; together, these foils embodied good versus evil. Yet due to the layering of iconographic meaning onto each creature over many centuries, we find cats and dogs variously represented as friend or foe, sacred or sinful, regal or scrappy. It was for the artist to choose from a bevy of specific, diverse meanings what applied to the pets they portrayed.
Elizabeth Simmons
PhD Student, University of Delaware
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Melencolia IMelencolia I, 1514
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Frederick de Vries with Goltzius’s DogFrederick de Vries with Goltzius’s Dog, 1597
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The Blind Man and his Dog from the series The Beggars (Les Gueux)The Blind Man and his Dog from the series The Beggars (Les Gueux), ca. 1622–23
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The Old Woman with the Cats from the series The Beggars (Les Gueux)The Old Woman with the Cats from the series The Beggars (Les Gueux), ca. 1622–23
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Winter, from The Four SeasonsWinter, from The Four Seasons , ca. 1614–34
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Aesop’s Fable of The Old Dog and His MasterAesop’s Fable of The Old Dog and His Master, ca. 1527-30
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A Smoking Chimney and Scolding Wife: The Plagues of ManA Smoking Chimney and Scolding Wife: The Plagues of Man, ca. 1810–20
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Adam and EveAdam and Eve, 1504
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The Large CatThe Large Cat, 1657
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Plate: Dr. Syntax Disputing his Bill with the LandladyPlate: Dr. Syntax Disputing his Bill with the Landlady, ca. 1818–29
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La Grande Chasse (The Stag Hunt)La Grande Chasse (The Stag Hunt), ca. 1619–20
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Porcupine Hunt, from the Hunting-PartiesPorcupine Hunt, from the Hunting-Parties, 1578
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