The artwork “A Boy and a Girl with a Cat and an Eel” by Judith Leyster dates to the year 1640 and is a quintessential piece from the Baroque period. This oil painting on a wooden canvas measures 49 by 59 cm and falls under the genre of portraiture. The artwork is housed in the National Gallery in London, United Kingdom, offering visitors an opportunity to view a piece that reflects the culture and sensibilities of the 17th century.
The artwork portrays a jovial scene featuring a young boy and girl, both rendered with keen attention to detail and vibrant expressiveness that is typical of Leyster’s work. The boy, clad in period attire, can be seen with a wide-brimmed hat and a jubilant expression, holding an eel in his right hand, which adds a playful dynamic to the composition. The girl, wearing a traditional bonnet and ruffled collar, accompanies the boy; her cheerful demeanor is accentuated by the gesture of her pointing finger. She is comfortably holding a cat, creating a domestic yet humorous tableau that speaks to the everyday life of the era. The rich textural details, from the soft fur of the cat to the realistic representation of the children’s skin and clothes, along with the use of lighting and shadow, showcase Leyster’s mastery of the medium and her ability to captivate viewers with the lifelike quality of her subjects.
