The Large Cat 1679 - 1702

This print, titled "The Large Cat", was made by an anonymous artist using etching. Here, the cat exists as a symbol of domesticity, yet the image also hints at the complex power dynamics that play out within the home. In this small etching, the cat is the large, looming figure, an almost monarchical presence, while the little mouse cowers behind bars. The cat's size in relation to the mouse, evokes the very real precarity of existence, the way some lives matter more than others, and how systems of power are often invisible to those who benefit from them. Interestingly, the setting creates a sense of confinement, almost as if both cat and mouse are trapped within the same domestic sphere. The identities of the two figures become entwined in this space, their fates seemingly interdependent.