A Boy And A Girl With A Cat And An Eel

Product Description

It has recently been suggested that this painting serves as a warning against foolish & mischievous behaviour. The boy has used the small eel to entice the cat into his grasp & then withholds the bait, while the girl teases the cat further by pulling its tail. Judging by its extended claws the cat is about to scratch the boy. The picture thus seems to allude to the Dutch saying: ' He who plays with cats gets scratched', meaning he who looks for trouble will get it. It was common in Dutch 17th-century painting to use children in order to point out the foolish behaviour of adults. Judith Leyster, a painter of genre scenes, portraits & still lifes, was mainly active in Haarlem & Amsterdam. In 1636 she married the painter Jan Molenaer, whose works are also represented in the Collection.