tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022318990784415929.post4565593678935824044..comments2023-10-20T11:17:47.246-04:00Comments on Two Nerdy History Girls: Dressing a Kitten, c. 1770Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022318990784415929.post-58653761886526383142014-01-29T22:10:43.731-05:002014-01-29T22:10:43.731-05:00Betty is right: if the kitten is a calico, which i...Betty is right: if the kitten is a calico, which it appears to be, it is female--there are no male calicos.<br /><br />As to the rest of the picture--the kitten is being seriously annoyed, but not harmed, and it doesn't appear that harm is intended. I doubt it rates a place, historically, in Hogarth's Stages of Cruelty.<br /><br />The tailor's apprentice might have caused more harm if the cat he dressed had gotten stuck in the wall and been unable to come out. Mercifully, such was not the case.Lucynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022318990784415929.post-53485497983547700192014-01-28T06:40:06.112-05:002014-01-28T06:40:06.112-05:00I wonder if the girl on the right facing is Mary A...I wonder if the girl on the right facing is Mary Ann Denby (daughter of the organist at Derby Cathedral), who married Thomas Sale. She is the left facing lady in the “Orrery” looking to the right. I say lady, she was no more than a young teenager at the time, dressed up like children like to do, to look older. I will have to check the date of the painting with my family tree. – Joseph Wright was so clever at giving the illusion of light in his paintings.Peter Salenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022318990784415929.post-60654207353126528282014-01-27T17:07:23.278-05:002014-01-27T17:07:23.278-05:00I shouldn't be surprised if there's a mora...I shouldn't be surprised if there's a moral lurking behind it - there could even be a hint of a proverb sometimes associated with Dutch cat paintings: 'Whoever plays with a little cat will be scratched'.Philip Wilkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04893714514416441572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022318990784415929.post-23845238349122613032014-01-27T10:47:33.006-05:002014-01-27T10:47:33.006-05:00I hate seeing animals played with as if they are t...I hate seeing animals played with as if they are toys instead of living creatures captive and subjected to unwanted, uncomfortable, and often carelessly cruel attentions. I really don't like when parents acquire animals for their children as if they are toys and don't teach them respect and empathy for them ( these are the ones that are often discarded like used Kleenex if the family moves, has another baby, or if the animal gets old and sick ; or it means the dog, no longer a puppy is isolated and neglected and a prisoner on a chain in the back yard). <br /><br />I find this picture creepy. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022318990784415929.post-61228612308009447892014-01-27T10:35:32.224-05:002014-01-27T10:35:32.224-05:00The kitten appears to be a calico, which is a fema...The kitten appears to be a calico, which is a female kitten. I think too much is being read into the tail between the legs. That's what kittens do.Bettynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022318990784415929.post-36195410772756858582014-01-27T10:32:44.566-05:002014-01-27T10:32:44.566-05:00Put me in the camp who sees this as creepy. There...Put me in the camp who sees this as creepy. There's something downright sinister about those two girls. I think they must be the sisters of Damien in "The Omen."<br /><br />Luckily, that cat looks like he's planning a gruesome revenge.Undinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16214242522330278662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022318990784415929.post-47198259030055801792014-01-27T09:48:19.702-05:002014-01-27T09:48:19.702-05:00I wonder who the older girl is turning to look at?...I wonder who the older girl is turning to look at? Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03121102757759349165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022318990784415929.post-48144007417262214402014-01-27T09:46:55.770-05:002014-01-27T09:46:55.770-05:00I hate seeing cats dressed for amusement, it is cr...I hate seeing cats dressed for amusement, it is cruelty [I have one cat who feels the cold who is glad of a jacket, but it's specially designed for her and she fetches it when she's chilly...] I doubt the thought of animal cruelty was considered deeply but the allegorical aspect is certainly interesting. They are objectifying the male, though in a feminist critique one might dryly say fair's fair as women were very much objectified [and still are]. Kitty even so has probably been lucky to have a reprieve from a watery death, and a little loss of dignity may well be worth it... one wonders if that might be taken in allegory too if the loss of dignity of crawling to a well dowered wife for an impoverished gentleman even for the clothes on his back might also be worth it... <br />Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03121102757759349165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5022318990784415929.post-44566658787865729152014-01-27T08:26:53.580-05:002014-01-27T08:26:53.580-05:00it is a LOLCATS sort of picture and that is how I ...it is a LOLCATS sort of picture and that is how I would have interpreted. I don't see any abuse in it but then I, and my children, have dressed cats and dogs in our time.<br />Thank you for this. It isn't the sort of picture one usually is show in art history.<br />BTW, I would be surprised if there were any concerns about animal cruelty in the 18th century. It seems hard to think that any one would be concerned about a couple of girls dressing a kitten that might have otherwise been drowned or left to go feral when their fathers and brothers were probably at a bull or bear baiting.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com