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| Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1933. www.metmuseum.org |
Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen (Dutch, c 1504-1559) had an adventuresome life. He became court painter to Margaret of Austria at about the age of 21; ten years later he accompanied her nephew Emperor Charles V to Tunis, where he created a portrait of the reinstated Tunisian king Moulay Hassan. After 1536 he settled in Brussels, and it must have been there that he took the quiet hours to etch and engrave this quiet and introspective "Girl with a Cat." The cat has been caught mid-biscuit, if I know that particular paw curl (and I do - Eliz was making biscuits on my face this morning as I woke up and I've the claw mark on my nose to show for it). Vermeyen had a master hand with human faces and anatomy, but I can tell he must not have worked with cats much. This one has very tiny ears, and the front legs seem too stubby; but yet he did capture the hooded eyes and pursed whiskers of a relaxed feline.
1 comment:
You're right--the cat does look sort of odd, especially in the front-leg area. Still a beautiful etching though.It's very relaxing to look at.
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