Terms and conditions of use
Montaigne and his cat
(1902)
illustration for The compleat angler by Izaak Walton, vol. 1, published by Freemantle & Co., London, 1902
- Medium
- etching and plate-tone
- Measurements
- 15.0 × 11.3 cm (image and plate) 25.7 × 18.8 cm (sheet)
- Catalogue/s Raisonné
- Strang 1962 525 ii/ii; Strang 425
- Edition
- 2nd of 2 states
- Inscription
- printed in ink (in image) l.l.: W.S.
inscribed in pencil l.r.: Wm Strang - Accession Number
- 2274-3
- Departments
- International Prints / International Prints and Drawings
- Credit Line
- National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1926
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of the Joe White Bequest - Gallery location
- Gallery 18
Level 3, NGV Australia - About this work
-
Perhaps the cat’s intelligence, individuality and independence were not fully appreciated or understood until the enlightened sixteenth-century French philosopher and cat lover Michel de Montaigne observed, ‘When I am playing with my cat, how do I know she is not playing with me?’ This book illustration could show the moment this thought dawned on Montaigne as he and his cat seem to be in a stare-off. It does beg the question, Who is in control of this situation?
