Image source: nationalgallery.org.uk
The Madonna of the Cat ('La Madonna del Gatto')
Artist:Federico Barocci
| Support Type: | Canvas |
| Paint Type: | Oil Paint |
| Current Location: | Held in the National Gallery, London (catalogue number NG29) |
| Location History: | Barocci painted the work for Antonio Brancaleoni, Count of Piobbico, a village about twenty miles west of Urbino. Around the same time, Brancaleoni also commissioned a separate, larger work from Barocci, a Rest on the Return from Egypt (now in the Vatican Museums) for the parish church at Piobbico. Given its smaller scale, square format, and intimate domestic subject, the painting is thought to have been intended not for the church but for the Brancaleoni household itself — likely the countess's own apartments, which were completed in 1574 (the count's apartments weren't finished until 1585). The painting is recorded as having passed down the female line of the Brancaleoni family, inherited by the countess's daughter, Isabella, further supporting the idea that it was associated with the women of the household. |
According to me, this painting shows a young lady who got trapped in a marriage way too early. The man or the husband looks way older for her. The leaning of the man shows that he may keeps her trapped or doesn't allow her any freedom. But the young lady's smile shows that she's fulfilled with everything because of her babies and doesn't need more. The twist in her body, as talked by the other intern in the description, for me represents that she may want to leave the space but she's holding back because of her kids? On the other hand, this painting can also be understood as a simple,happy family just spending time with their babies, smiling and watching them.
Information Compiled by
Lemuela Mary J