Domestic cat playing with a mouse

Cat

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Detail of a tabby cat playing with a mouse in the Lutrell Psalter, ca. 1340.

Domestic cat playing with a mouse (detail).
Lutrell Psalter. ca. 1340.
Commissioned by Sir Geoffrey Lutrell of Irnham.
The British Library, Add. MS 42130, fol. 190.
Parchment, 35,5 x 24,5 cm.
The British Library, London.

Description

The image represents a gray and black tabby cat playing with a mouse. He is semi-standing on his hind legs playing with a small brown mouse between his front paws and open claws before the inevitable end. In this example the artist has payed close attention to the cat, rendering a very naturalistic representation of the feline and capturing part of its character. The image is located at the bottom of the folio.

Bibliography

• Camille, Michael. Mirror in Parchment: The Luttrell Psalter and the Making of Medieval England. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1998.
• The Luttrell Psalter, a Facsimile. Commentary by Michelle P. Browne. London: The British Library, 2006.
• Zuffi, Stephano. Cats in Art. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2007.

Author

Mónica Ann Walker Vadillo