Unknown Artist
In the 17th century, animals behaving like humans were a popular way to make people laugh—and to point out their very human weaknesses. This wonderfully strange drawing shows a cat and dog dressed in human clothes and dancing together, while three rats scurry around their feet. According to Adriaen van de Venne, whose composition inspired this anonymous drawing, his “foolish animals” embodied the Christian Seven Deadly Sins: here, the amorous dancing couple represents Lust, while the restless rats symbolize Wrath. The image was actually created as a design for a print titled Hoe Soet Is De Liefde (“How Sweet Is Love”), which makes the dancing pair feel even more mischievous.
What makes it particularly fun is how little has changed: from fables and cartoons to memes, giving animals human clothes, emotions, and bad habits remains one of our favorite ways of making fun of ourselves.
P.S. If you are in love with animals in art, please check out our Animals 50 Postcards Set in the DailyArt Shop! :)
P.P.S. The Rijksmuseum team has shared with us some of their favorite works from the collection. See which artworks made their list!