Judith Leyster’s <i>A Boy and a Girl with a Cat and an Eel</i>: An Intersectional Approach
In <i>A Boy and a Girl with a Cat and an Eel</i>, concerns about class, decorum, and civility intersected with contemporary dialogue about the distinction between humans and animals, specifically, how human children needed to be educated to be distinguished from the wild, uncivilized sta...
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MDPI AG
2024-10-01
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| Series: | Arts |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/13/5/150 |
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| author | Elizabeth Sutton |
| author_facet | Elizabeth Sutton |
| author_sort | Elizabeth Sutton |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In <i>A Boy and a Girl with a Cat and an Eel</i>, concerns about class, decorum, and civility intersected with contemporary dialogue about the distinction between humans and animals, specifically, how human children needed to be educated to be distinguished from the wild, uncivilized state of animals and peasants. Both animals held significance surrounding behaviors that separated the moral from the immoral; cats and eels were pets and food, and they were used in baiting pastimes: cat clubbing and eel pulling. Paired with the children, Leyster’s choice of animals raised multiple moral questions and allowed for multiple interpretations, making the work widely appealing and setting Leyster apart in a tight market for genre paintings. These layers of possible meanings continue to make the work compelling today and shed light on how visual culture reflected and reinforced human–animal and social class distinctions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1e0974a00d0f44ffa03e43b22a674062 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2076-0752 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Arts |
| spelling | doaj-art-1e0974a00d0f44ffa03e43b22a6740622025-08-20T02:11:01ZengMDPI AGArts2076-07522024-10-0113515010.3390/arts13050150Judith Leyster’s <i>A Boy and a Girl with a Cat and an Eel</i>: An Intersectional ApproachElizabeth Sutton0College of Humanities Arts and Sciences, University of Northern Iowa, 1227 W 27th St, Cedar Falls, IA 50614, USAIn <i>A Boy and a Girl with a Cat and an Eel</i>, concerns about class, decorum, and civility intersected with contemporary dialogue about the distinction between humans and animals, specifically, how human children needed to be educated to be distinguished from the wild, uncivilized state of animals and peasants. Both animals held significance surrounding behaviors that separated the moral from the immoral; cats and eels were pets and food, and they were used in baiting pastimes: cat clubbing and eel pulling. Paired with the children, Leyster’s choice of animals raised multiple moral questions and allowed for multiple interpretations, making the work widely appealing and setting Leyster apart in a tight market for genre paintings. These layers of possible meanings continue to make the work compelling today and shed light on how visual culture reflected and reinforced human–animal and social class distinctions.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/13/5/150Leysterclassgender |
| spellingShingle | Elizabeth Sutton Judith Leyster’s <i>A Boy and a Girl with a Cat and an Eel</i>: An Intersectional Approach Arts Leyster class gender |
| title | Judith Leyster’s <i>A Boy and a Girl with a Cat and an Eel</i>: An Intersectional Approach |
| title_full | Judith Leyster’s <i>A Boy and a Girl with a Cat and an Eel</i>: An Intersectional Approach |
| title_fullStr | Judith Leyster’s <i>A Boy and a Girl with a Cat and an Eel</i>: An Intersectional Approach |
| title_full_unstemmed | Judith Leyster’s <i>A Boy and a Girl with a Cat and an Eel</i>: An Intersectional Approach |
| title_short | Judith Leyster’s <i>A Boy and a Girl with a Cat and an Eel</i>: An Intersectional Approach |
| title_sort | judith leyster s i a boy and a girl with a cat and an eel i an intersectional approach |
| topic | Leyster class gender |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/13/5/150 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT elizabethsutton judithleystersiaboyandagirlwithacatandaneelianintersectionalapproach |