Sunday, February 27, 2011

Cats in Art: Last Supper

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.  Last Supper: Jaime Huguet, (1414-1492), tempera on wood, around 1450, held by Museu Nacional D'art de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.

Zuffi comments:

This Last Supper also demonstrates Huguet's capacity for observing reality. The presence of cats in paintings of the Last Supper is certainly not uncommon, but here Huguet does not resort to a conventional image, such as the customary quarrel between a cat and a dog.  His large, solitary cat rubs itself against the apoastles' legs, an unequivocal gesture soliciting cuddles and food.

The artist, Huguet, really nails it, as does Zuffi in describing the painting.  A cat, were it present at the Last Supper, would be doing exactly what this one is doing, regardless of whether the Son of God was there or not.

One of our (bad) cats, of course, may well have made a move onto the table itself.

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