Sujet

Madonna and Child with a Cat, c1490. Creator: Unknown.

Légende

Madonna and Child with a Cat, c1490. This Madonna and Child includes an unexpected visitor - a cat! Rarely depicted in Christian art, cats carry a number of different meanings: since they hunted household pests like vermin and snakes, they were sometimes considered defenders against evil. However, they could also be viewed as sources of evil themselves, on account of their traditional association with witches. Since the cat in this painting appears with the Madonna and Child, it may be a reference to a popular Christian legend claiming that a cat gave birth at the same time that Mary gave birth to Christ. It might also be a heraldic emblem of the family or individual who commissioned the work.

Crédit

Photo12/Heritage Images/Heritage Art

Notre référence

HRM23B15_469

Model release

NA

Property release

NA

Licence

Droits gérés

Format disponible

53,0Mo (2,3Mo) / 31,6cm x 42,0cm / 3734 x 4960 (300dpi)

Mots clés

exterior outdoors city blue portrait animal Italy Italian woman holding women woman people man boy boys child children looking animals cat cats family religious sitting painting country religion naked nude parent virgin feline clothes museum color mother Christianity dress cityscape hair motherhood Renaissance location century son brown hair parenting clothing stroking seated APPAREL looking down two people nudity nakedness mum cloak felines oil Painting Colour Madonna Madonna and child Virgin and Child 15th century fifteenth century Virgin Mary Jesus Christ Mary outside brunette portrait Madonna young women young woman Unknown Christ Jesus Jesus Virgin Saint Mary Virgin Mother Mother of God The Virgin Mary Stella Maris St Mary Oil on wood Chri Walters Art Museum Heritage Art clothing & dress fashion & clothing Our Lady of Refuge Our Lady of Mariazell Notre Dame du Folgoet Our Lady of Folgoet 1490s Jesus of Nazareth oil (?) on wood panel Master of the Pala Sforzesca Sforzesca Master of the Pala