Artwork Page for The Monkey and the Cat

Details / Information for The Monkey and the Cat

The Monkey and the Cat

probably 1670s

Abraham Hondius

(Dutch, c. 1625–1695)
Culture
Netherlands
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
Framed: 80 x 93.5 x 6 cm (31 1/2 x 36 13/16 x 2 3/8 in.); Unframed: 62.2 x 73.7 cm (24 1/2 x 29 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of The Butkin Foundation 1979.82
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

This picture interprets one of Aesop’s ancient Greek fables (or probably the more contemporary interpretation by Jean de la Fontaine, even more famous at the time), which warns of the dangers of flattery. A monkey sweet-talks a cat into pulling scalding chestnuts out of the fire. The cat finishes the risky and painful task to discover that the monkey has already gobbled up nearly all of them.
A horizontally oriented oil painting depicts a dark brown monkey tackling a cat. The cat, gray-striped, turns on its side to show a white belly, with its mouth stretched open, yellow eyes wide. Three chestnuts roll in front of a fire burning to the right, gray smoke clouds surrounding it in front of the dark brown background. While the cat looks at us, the monkey's yellow eyes look toward the fire, one of the cat's paws placed on the monkey's head.

The Monkey and the Cat

probably 1670s

Abraham Hondius

(Dutch, c. 1625–1695)
Netherlands

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