Medieval cat paintings

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 medieval cat paintings. It looks like the medieval painters never laid eyes on a cat.

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.

Medieval cat paintings

Ever tried to paint a cat? While they excelled at painting religious scenes, portraits of Royalty, and naked ladies, this particular type of pussy offered an altogether different challenge. There are a couple of reasons why these funny cats look as they do in the Medieval art depictions. 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. On the other hand, linear perspective , giving a painting depth, was not systemized until the Italian Renaissance. That's why the given ugly cats look so flat and slightly misshapen. 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. 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. I guess the drawings do prove, though, that we have been obsessed with sharing cat memes since way before the internet!

Stay up to date! How did they combat that?

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

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.

Medieval cat paintings

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. Public opinions about cats could get so terrible that felines were even persecuted at times during the Middle Ages - an activity sanctioned by the Papacy itself. The complex relationship medieval people had with cats influenced how people represented them in works of art.

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Artists are a mischievous bunch. Human beings are still working on the technology that will make us live forever. Artists during this time were not interested in realism. The face, however deformed, has mischief written all over it. Analysis March 6, Norman Rockwell, Explained An overview of the life and paintings of artist Norman Rockwell and an in-depth analysis of the impact of his work on American culture, including his "Rockwellesque" style, starting in An overview of the life and paintings of artist Norman Rockwell and an in-depth analysis of the impact of his work on American culture, including his "Rockwellesque" style, starting in 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. How did they combat that? In fact, it makes cats as a whole look like really scary, ugly creatures. Humans received the same kind of moral reflection as animals in medieval-era art. They chose or were forced to paint this way for religious reasons. Or maybe they were intentionally making cats look weird to mess with people. The deterrence toward cats and their mischievous behavior did not stop at art.

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Watch the video below where it gives the full explanation for why cats in Medieval paintings were less than adorable:. 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. So why were medieval artists so terrible at painting cats? Jesslyn Low. Much of the animosity toward cats revolved around the dark forces. So, the rather odd appearance of the cats could be because they wanted their image to depict their poor societal behavior. In fact, it makes cats as a whole look like really scary, ugly creatures. Humans received the same kind of moral reflection as animals in medieval-era art. Seeing these felines in all their different incarnations is a delight! Anastasia Arellano. They can be loyal and very loving. Taylor Hunt. The deterrence toward cats and their mischievous behavior did not stop at art. From the similarity some of these cats have to human faces I would say that the artists did use humans as models.