Who painted Woman Eating, Known as ‘The Cat’s Breakfast’?

Woman Eating, Known as ‘The Cat’s Breakfast’ was painted by Gabriel Metsu in 1661.

Where can I see Woman Eating, Known as ‘The Cat’s Breakfast’?

Woman Eating, Known as ‘The Cat’s Breakfast’ is held by Rijksmuseum.

What movement is Woman Eating, Known as ‘The Cat’s Breakfast’?

Woman Eating, Known as ‘The Cat’s Breakfast’ is associated with Dutch Golden Age.

Can I buy a print of Woman Eating, Known as ‘The Cat’s Breakfast’?

Museum-quality prints of Woman Eating, Known as ‘The Cat’s Breakfast’ are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Artwork

Woman Eating, Known as ‘The Cat’s Breakfast’

Gabriel Metsu , 1661

Woman Eating, Known as ‘The Cat’s Breakfast’ is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Gabriel Metsu. It dates from 1661 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The painting shows a woman seated at a table with a cat and a bowl of milk, symbolizing domestic tranquility and the simple pleasures of everyday life.

The painting shows a woman seated at a table with a cat and a bowl of milk, symbolizing domestic tranquility and the simple pleasures of everyday life. The presence of the cat alludes to household companionship, while the act of eating underscores themes of nourishment and modest domestic contentment. Together these elements convey a quiet moralizing scene that celebrates modest household virtue in 17th‑century Dutch genre painting.

The work is part of the collection held by Margaretha Catharina van Lennep and later J. Goll van Franckenstein, and it resides in the Rijksmuseum and Amsterdam Museum in Amsterdam.

Technique & Style

Executed in 1661, this genre scene by Gabriel Metsu is realized in oil paint applied to a wooden panel. The work measures 34 cm in height and 27 cm in width. As a painting classified within the genre art tradition, it exemplifies the artist's approach to domestic subjects during the mid-seventeenth century.

The combination of oil medium and panel support was a standard technical choice for Dutch Golden Age painters seeking durability and a smooth surface for fine detail.

History & Provenance

Gabriel Metsu executed the oil painting on panel titled Woman Eating, also known as The Cat's Breakfast, in 1661. The work's documented ownership history includes possession by Margaretha Catharina van Lennep before passing to the collection of J. Goll van Franckenstein. Today, the painting is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

The painting is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. It entered the museum's holdings through inheritance from Margaretha Catharina van Lennep and later passed to J. Goll van Franckenstein before accession. The work has been exhibited in the Rijksmuseum's galleries as part of its permanent display of Dutch Golden Age paintings, though specific exhibition titles are not detailed in the source records.

Overview

Woman Eating, Known as ‘The Cat’s Breakfast’ is a 1661 oil painting by Dutch artist Gabriël Metsu, exemplifying the genre scene tradition of the Dutch Golden Age.