Jongen met kat c. 1625

Curator: This is “Boy with Cat,” a print made around 1625 by Cornelis Bloemaert. It’s currently held here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: Well, my immediate response is… awkward. There’s an ungainliness to the boy’s pose and facial expression that is deeply unsettling. Curator: Ungainly? Interesting. Bloemaert’s skill with line work is definitely on display. The dense hatching and cross-hatching create a wide tonal range, which is quite effective in rendering textures, from the boy’s hair to the soft fur of the cat. Notice how the lines curve to suggest the rounded forms? Editor: Yes, technically proficient, no doubt, but in service of what? This composition feels claustrophobic. The dark, almost featureless background pushes the figures forward, and the boy’s awkward hold on the cat… it’s almost painful to look at. One has to consider this from an art historical position of similar genre paintings of the Dutch Golden Age. Is the intent here sentimental or perhaps a broader commentary on domesticity and social class? The choice to immortalize this, of all subjects. Why? Curator: That’s a valid perspective, of course, the artist, in some manner, tries to capture a particular aesthetic. Think about the lines of the robe the boy wears— how they seem to be falling off his shoulder, or the way the collar sits almost loose; Bloemaert isn’t after the smooth elegance, of course, so one can read that decision into other areas. The engraver deliberately renders texture imperfectly, making it something other than just skin or fur. The subject, therefore, is being handled in an abstracted, geometric form. The work uses light, tonality and form for its expression. Editor: But at what cost to the representation of human relationships? Considering this piece amidst similar Baroque portraits, I wonder what statement Bloemaert was aiming to make, or perhaps subvert. Curator: I suppose you find its lack of symmetry and grace bothersome? Despite this asymmetry in structure, in its purest construction, it does provoke discourse with the relationship of the artwork’s many forms with each other. Editor: Perhaps you are correct, I cannot dismiss the idea this composition prompts more questions than delivers visual peace; regardless of the success in creating this harmony of many lines, shades, lights and construction it definitely delivers something. Curator: Absolutely, indeed, the engraving allows a reflection on more than it depicts at first glance.