Art has changed a great deal over the past centuries. By looking back at different art movements, we can see the evolution of different aesthetics and approaches to painting, sculpture, and other media. But while creative styles have shifted over time, the interest in certain subjects has remained the same for most artists. Case in point: cats have had a storied relationship in art that stretches all the way back to ancient Egypt.
From domestic cats to cheetahs, tigers, and lions—depictions of felines can be found across cultures and time periods. The ancient Egyptians saw cats as sacred animals and incorporated their likeness into relief carvings, papyrus paintings, and tomb decorations. During the Middle Ages, however, the Catholic Church had a less favorable view of cats, due to their association with paganism and witchcraft. As a result, cats were warded off from cities and even tortured.
Despite their bad reputation, cats were still part of Medieval life in Europe—mostly providing pest control for urban centers—and they permeated much of the art created during this period. However, these portrayals aren't known for their accuracy. Instead, paintings of cats in Medieval art are known for their humorously strange appearances, which is perhaps tied to their poor standing in European society in the Middle Ages. These illustrations vary from kitties with human-like faces to cats walking on their hindlegs to lions that don't look very catlike at all.
Scroll down to see these funny depictions of cats in Medieval art.
Cats in Medieval Art
Depictions of Domestic Cats
cat king, germany, 15th century pic.twitter.com/ed9HCSA386
— weird medieval guys (@WeirdMedieval) September 2, 2022
catnip, france, 13th century pic.twitter.com/Jmn5V1407B
— weird medieval guys (@WeirdMedieval) August 22, 2022
cat, france, 15th century pic.twitter.com/YwV7Xh0gGD
— weird medieval guys (@WeirdMedieval) August 9, 2022
cat, france, 15th century pic.twitter.com/wfyFN2huNA
— weird medieval guys (@WeirdMedieval) August 4, 2022
st matthew and his cat, bruges, ca. 1500 pic.twitter.com/OAyhC9TZsv
— weird medieval guys (@WeirdMedieval) July 31, 2022
armed and dangerous, england, 15th century pic.twitter.com/xfWyFhHb7Q
— weird medieval guys (@WeirdMedieval) July 24, 2022
— weird medieval guys (@WeirdMedieval) July 22, 2022
cat pic.twitter.com/Y0Fmtay4b6
— weird medieval guys (@WeirdMedieval) July 11, 2022
cat, england, 12th century pic.twitter.com/m2v0xOSJ1x
— weird medieval guys (@WeirdMedieval) July 8, 2022
cat churning butter, germany, 14th century pic.twitter.com/pzo8Cx5Ngb
— weird medieval guys (@WeirdMedieval) July 3, 2022
Paintings of Lions
st jerome and the lion, italy, 15th century pic.twitter.com/1W9pyGrO2Y
— weird medieval guys (@WeirdMedieval) September 11, 2022
lion, netherlands, ca. 1175 pic.twitter.com/F8HXvITuQX
— weird medieval guys (@WeirdMedieval) September 19, 2022
lions, france, 11th century pic.twitter.com/bhOweio0yd
— weird medieval guys (@WeirdMedieval) July 14, 2022
Watch this video to learn more about the tradition of cats in Medieval art:
h/t: [Open Culture]
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