Scène uit de gelaarsde kat 1858 - 1875

This charming "Scène uit de gelaarsde kat," or Puss in Boots scene, captures a moment of cunning and transformation, echoing throughout our collective memory. The central figure of the cat, rendered here in a moment of clever deceit, evokes a lineage of trickster figures. The image, frozen in time, reminds us of Hermes from ancient Greece, and even Anansi, the spider of West African lore, who through their wit, challenge and reshape the world around them. Notice the cat's posture, the raised paw. It reappears through centuries of art, mirroring gestures of orators and performers—a posture of power and persuasion. It is a posture etched into our subconscious, stirring primal responses of trust, suspicion, and the enduring allure of the cunning hero. Indeed, like the cat, symbols are never static. They leap, adapt, and reappear, transformed yet familiar, throughout the tapestry of human expression.