Katten 1850 - 1881

Curator: This print, entitled "Katten", from around 1850 to 1881, offers a series of vignettes featuring cats. Editor: Immediately, I'm struck by the contrast between the rigidity of the grid format and the almost comical freedom within each frame. The lines seem hastily drawn, energetic but somewhat contained. Curator: That makes sense. "Katten," which simply means "cats," would have been part of a series, printed in multiples and disseminated widely. Think of it as a children's magazine page – hence the regimented layout and simple lithography. Each small picture contains a miniature narrative, perhaps didactic in nature. Editor: Absolutely, each segment has its own perspective, a slightly different light quality even with the minimal color palette. Note how the lines vary—thicker and darker to delineate form, lighter to suggest interior light in some segments. Curator: These are essentially little morality tales, parables centered around felines. Take "De Kat, Geene Muis Vangende", "The cat that catches no mouse". The depiction shows a lazy, unfocused cat. These weren't just drawings of animals, but vessels for imbuing concepts and conveying moral lessons through easily understood symbols. Editor: I find myself drawn to “Het Katten-Concert”. The asymmetry of the figure leading the cats in the choir, how his action seems to disturb the static formation of his singers is really interesting. Curator: Music was associated with the lower class, and these drawings also use animal bodies to reflect certain ethnic associations and types. Editor: While I agree that this symbolism might have weight, note that this print anticipates many modern trends like zines and artist books using mixed media, text, and images to deliver their message, and I find it's a compelling feature. Curator: I am thinking now about the Dutch saying “to buy a cat in a sack." I wonder if this also comments on trust in a system and not falling victim to an illusion, a deception. Editor: Seeing the overall layout, how it combines typography, images, and color, makes me appreciate the work’s unified presence; there's something visually arresting in how the overall pattern functions, not just what each picture says separately.