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Source Description
A child teasing a cat is a frequent subject in Dutch art; it refers to the idea that (sexual) teasing can lead to a painful scratching. That this mischievous girl is partially disrobed makes the consequences more obvious and erotic-since her bared skin teases the viewer as well. Her voluptuousness and apparent cheerfulness suggest a brothel, not the everyday life of children.Van Bijlert, a leading master in Utrecht, owes his sensual treatment of the human body to the influence of his teacher Abraham Bloemaert and the paintings by the great Italian master Caravaggio that he saw while in Rome (1621-24/25), such as the latter's melancholic, starkly sensual "Musicians," from which he apparently adapted the shoulder and arm of the boy at the right for this girl.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
38664
label
Girl Teasing a Cat
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
38664
sourceUrl
contentType
drawing
stage
normalized
title
Girl Teasing a Cat
description
A child teasing a cat is a frequent subject in Dutch art; it refers to the idea that (sexual) teasing can lead to a painful scratching. That this mischievous girl is partially disrobed makes the consequences more obvious and erotic-since her bared skin teases the viewer as well. Her voluptuousness and apparent cheerfulness suggest a brothel, not the everyday life of children.Van Bijlert, a leading master in Utrecht, owes his sensual treatment of the human body to the influence of his teacher Abraham Bloemaert and the paintings by the great Italian master Caravaggio that he saw while in Rome (1621-24/25), such as the latter's melancholic, starkly sensual "Musicians," from which he apparently adapted the shoulder and arm of the boy at the right for this girl.
provenance
Daphne Alazraki, Old master Paintings, New York; Wallters Art Museum, Baltimore, 1993, by purchase.
date
ca. 1630 (Baroque)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Painting & Drawing
paintings
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
41.5
height
33
dimensionsRaw
H: 16 5/16 x W: 13 in. (41.5 x 33 cm)
style
Baroque
Source extras
cul
Dutch
inscriptions
[Signature] J.v bijlert fe
med
oil on panel
creator_ids
6307
collection_ids
BAR
exhibition_ids
963
948
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
c9e547305f1512c5