The Monkey and the Cat
Abraham Hondius · probably 1670s · Cleveland Museum of Art
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From the museum
This picture interprets one of Aesop’s ancient Greek fables (or probably the more contemporary interpretation by Jean de la Fontaine, even more famous at the time), which warns of the dangers of flattery. A monkey sweet-talks a cat into pulling scalding chestnuts out of the fire. The cat finishes the risky and painful task to discover that the monkey has already gobbled up nearly all of them.
The museum’s own description, in English. Licence: CC0
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Details
- Maker
- Abraham Hondius (Dutch, c. 1625–1695)
- Date
- probably 1670s
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Framed: 80 x 93.5 x 6 cm (31 1/2 x 36 13/16 x 2 3/8 in.); Unframed: 62.2 x 73.7 cm (24 1/2 x 29 in.)
- Place of origin
- Netherlands
- Held by
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland · Not on view
- Credit line
- Gift of The Butkin Foundation
Image: Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0
