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Cats Being Instructed in the Art of Mouse-Catching by an Owl (c. 1700)
Original price was: $518.00.$259.00Current price is: $259.00.
Artist: Lombard School (Unknown Artist)
A satirical Lombard School allegory, c. 1700, of nine cats gathered around a solemn owl perched on a book of mouse pictures, as if in a bizarre music lesson.
Description
Description
This eccentric and enduringly popular Lombard School painting, dated to around 1700, depicts an owl perched solemnly atop an open book decorated with drawings of mice. Surrounding the owl are nine black and grey cats, gathered as if attending a lesson or concert; two of the cats hold musical instruments, one wears a necklace, and a small imp-like winged figure is also perched on the book, comically holding a trumpet. The painting is composed within a painted lunette format, a device often used in Italian decorative schemes of the period.
The scene plays on an absurd premise: an owl, not naturally a hunter of mice in the way a cat is, appears to instruct the cats in mouse-catching, a skill they would already possess by instinct. This droll inversion gives the composition a satirical, almost theatrical quality typical of Northern Italian animal allegories from the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, where anthropomorphized animals were used to poke fun at human institutions such as schools, choirs, and academies.
Our reproduction is a hand-painted oil on canvas, created by skilled studio artists who study the original composition closely to recreate its palette, texture, and painterly detail. Every cat’s fur, the owl’s feathers, and the tiny mouse illustrations on the book are rendered by hand using traditional oil techniques, not printed or mechanically reproduced.
- Hand-painted oil on canvas reproduction
- Faithful to the original Lombard School composition, c. 1700
- Available in a range of sizes to suit your space
- Ready to hang or frame as desired
A charming, conversation-starting piece for collectors of whimsical animal art, Old Master curiosities, or anyone drawn to the eccentric side of Baroque painting.
Additional information
Additional information
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Each ByMuseum artwork is a hand-painted oil painting reproduction created by trained artists on high-quality cotton canvas. Every piece is reviewed, finished, and packed according to the framing option you select.
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