Two Children Teasing a Cat
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
26 x 35 in. (66 x 88.9 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Gwynne Andrews Fund, and Bequests of Collis P. Huntington and Ogden Mills, by exchange, 1994
Accession Number
1994.142
Tags
About this artwork
Annibale Carracci's "Two Children Teasing a Cat" (1587-88) represents a revolutionary moment in genre painting history, when everyday subjects achieved artistic status rivaling history painting's traditional prestige. This oil on canvas (26 x 35 inches) depicts two children intent on tormenting a cat with a crayfish—a scene combining psychological observation with probable moralizing intent, as such pranks likely conveyed lessons about consequences of reckless actions through popular proverbs. T...
Art Historical Context
Annibale Carracci'sTwo Children Teasing a Cat* (c. 1587–88), an oil on canvas measuring 26 x 35 inches, captures a lively moment childhood mischief: two children—one boy and one girl—dangling a crayfish to torment a startled cat. This intimate genre scene, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's European Paintings collection (acquired in 1994), marked a bold shift in art history. Carracci elevated everyday life to the prestige of traditional history painting, blending sharp psychological observation with subtle moral lessons drawn from proverbs about the consequences of reckless pranks. A lea...
About the Artist
Annibale Carracci · 1560–1609
Annibale was considered one of the greatest Italian painters of his age. His style is marked by naturalism combined with the formal language of Classicism in a grand and monumental style. Annibale was also instrumental in evolving the ideal, classical landscape and is generally credited with the invention of caricature. Italian painter. Comment on works: Mythology.