Medieval cat paintings

Ever tried to paint a cat?

Internet is filled with adorable cat photos, but there was a time before the modern age when artists really struggled to make cats look cute. While medieval artists excelled at painting religious scenes and portraits of royalty, cats offered an altogether different challenge. It looks like the medieval painters never laid eyes on a cat. Scroll down to feast your eyes on ugly cat art gallery! So why were medieval artists so terrible at painting cats?

Medieval cat paintings

Have you ever been told in a history class to take everything with a grain of salt because we look at history through a modern lens? To artists during the medieval era, animals were seen as a reflection of society, and cats were a prime example of deviant behavior. Unlike dogs, these feudal feline friends could not be trained in loyalty—they simply came and went depending on who fed them. So, the rather odd appearance of the cats could be because they wanted their image to depict their poor societal behavior. Much of the animosity toward cats revolved around the dark forces. This is also where we get the black cat superstitions, dating back to the 12th century. For example, consider this image of a cat from Scheibler Armorial, made in Germany around In this work, the cat holds a crown on its head, its derpy face looking rather pleased with itself in its new position of power. The face, however deformed, has mischief written all over it. What is the cat ruler of? The deterrence toward cats and their mischievous behavior did not stop at art. There was a moment on record in when a monk wrote in outrage about a cat peeing on his manuscripts:. Humans received the same kind of moral reflection as animals in medieval-era art. Artists during this time were not interested in realism.

They lived on in the works of their creative partners. In fact, it makes cats as a whole look like really scary, ugly creatures.

Human beings are still working on the technology that will make us live forever. But while we wait for the discovery of the so-called fountain of youth, there is still one surefire way to be immortal: get a creative person to create something in your likeness. They lived on in the works of their creative partners. Whether tragically unrequited or happily ever after, many greats throughout history have created a way through which a person can be remembered forever. Poets and writers immortalized the loves of their lives on the pages of their works, artists painted their loves onto canvases, and musicians penned love songs that we still sing along to, to this day. So yeah, if you want to be remembered, have a creative person fall in love with you. Unfortunately, not all artistic expressions were flattering for those who were painted into a picture.

Hepper is reader-supported. When you buy via links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you. Learn more. Click to Skip Ahead. Are you interested in knowing which artists adored cats just like you? Instead, they painted on walls of tombs, palaces, and slabs of stone. Many cat paintings are dispersed throughout ancient Egypt since cats were worshiped as gods. One painting, in particular, is the hunting scene on the Tomb of Nebamun. This scene shows Nabamun hunting in the Nile marsh with a cat next to him, catching birds.

Medieval cat paintings

Curiosity kills the cat, but cracks up the modern-day artist when it comes to reviewing some funny and interesting representations of cats in art history. Art is subjective and more often than not, artists are imperfect too. The Middle Ages are often associated with European civilizations that emerged after the collapse of the Roman Empire and lasted until the 15th century. This period can be understood as the trial-and-error period in art history where people were beginning to form an understanding of art as well as an appreciation of it outside of the realm of religious purposes. The Medieval era is also understood as the Dark Age, which was essentially a period where Europe experienced a loss of power. The Medieval period was also a time when hierarchy provided safety for the people and information was very much controlled. The function of pets in Medieval society was more related to serving a purpose rather than affection.

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Stay up to date! While medieval artists excelled at painting religious scenes and portraits of royalty, cats offered an altogether different challenge. Share Share Link. They also wanted to illuminate his strength as a part of his identity that began at birth, which is likely where the paintings of baby Jesus with an unironic six-pack and triceps come from. If you enjoyed to look at ugly cats in medieval art, you can improve your morning coffee experience with ugly medieval cat coasters from Etsy. The face, however deformed, has mischief written all over it. It would have been great to know where all these drawings originate — from what books and manuscripts etc, not to mention where they are kept. Artists are a mischievous bunch. While most of them have got the basic shape of a feline down to a reasonable tee in these cat illustrations, it is the face that seems to provide the biggest problem. I guess the drawings do prove, though, that we have been obsessed with sharing cat memes since way before the internet!

Practical yet feared creatures, cats were great for catching mice, but people also believed they carried evil around with them. And even catching mice could be seen as a cursed activity, a sure sign medieval cats really couldn't catch a break.

But while we wait for the discovery of the so-called fountain of youth, there is still one surefire way to be immortal: get a creative person to create something in your likeness. This is also where we get the black cat superstitions, dating back to the 12th century. However, according to CBC , these artists disliked receiving these projects because they ran the risk of accidentally portraying the son of God as a weak and innocent figure. Artists during this time were not interested in realism. Follow us on Google News! Poets and writers immortalized the loves of their lives on the pages of their works, artists painted their loves onto canvases, and musicians penned love songs that we still sing along to, to this day. They can be loyal and very loving. Subscribe to Dusty Old Thing. One of them is that the primary purpose of these paintings was to translate the religious scripts to the illiterate bear in mind that there were relatively few people who could read - monks, priests, and the nobility , and the other, unnecessary details weren't so scrupulously painted. Instead of the cute kitten features we all know and love, the artists instead appear to favor a grim, almost human-like look that makes these cat paintings look a bit, well, scary. While they excelled at painting religious scenes, portraits of Royalty, and naked ladies, this particular type of pussy offered an altogether different challenge. As the church would often not allow painting humans realistically, just as a religious symbol of some kind, artists were searching for original reasons to paint from observation. Unlike dogs, these feudal feline friends could not be trained in loyalty—they simply came and went depending on who fed them.