Sujet

The Dance of the Rats, c1690. Creator: Ferdinand van Kessel.

Légende

The Dance of the Rats, c1690. Additional Info: 'When the cat’s away, the mice will play.' This proverb seems to be illustrated by the four comical rats dancing ring-a-ring-o’-roses. The brown shape in the background, which resembles the head of a fish or monster, helps to solve the puzzle. It is the fragment of a carved table base and reveals that the painting was cut out of a larger canvas. Scenes of animals parodying human behaviour are frequently encountered in Flemish painting. In that context, mice and rats are generally associated with vices such as drunkenness and gluttony.

Crédit

Photo12/Heritage Images/Heritage Art

Notre référence

HRM26A12_363

Model release

NA

Property release

NA

Licence

Droits gérés

Format disponible

51.7Mo (5.4Mo) / 38.6cm x 33.5cm / 4560 x 3962 (300dpi)

Mots clés

Europe leisure animal animals historical arts painting dance game art dancing museum Flanders Belgium color humour comical scene Baroque comic depiction century gallery concept rat rats pastime parody 17th century art gallery oil Painting Colour Flemish satire satirical culture history historic seventeenth century Oil on canvas TGN Ring a Ring o' Roses oil Baroque Era Oil on canvas art centre roundelay Staedel Museum Stadel Museum Baroque 1690s Painting Heritage Art Flemish Baroque Städel Museum Stadelsches Kunstinstitut und Stadtische Galerie Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie Ferdinand van Kessel Kessel Ferdinand van Ferdinand Van-Kessel le Fils