Head of a Cat (Middle Size)

Hollar was one of the most important printmakers of the seventeenth century. His technical virtuosity and his ability to render things, places, and people with astonishing detail and truthfulness has been highly regarded since his lifetime. He was so prolific and versatile that it has been noted that all we know of the 17th century is known through the work of Hollar. This wonderful image of a cat's head, a predecessor to Nathaniel Currier's 19th-century "The Favorite Cat" (acc. no. 63.550.159), depicts the head of a cat and inscribed in Czech and German. The inscriptions state literally: "This is a good cat, it does not nibble" which has been interpreted as meaning "a good cat is not greedy" (Volrábová 2007, cat. III/19). Scholars have tried without much success to connect the sayings to fables or children's rhymes. Perhaps a political message has been disguised here? A political print would be unusual within the artist's oeuvre. Whatever its meaning, the print was clearly popular as the image was copied four times.