A Shout-Out To Renaissance Animals

On these pages we feature all manner of iconic, dramatic, thunderous art—from gossamer-gowned goddesses to avenging Biblical heroines, high-minded (yet questionable) angels to the occasional rakish courtier, and more. But we’d also like to take a moment to celebrate all those charming and extremely lovable animals who sometimes hover in the periphery or

skulk along the (wine-soaked) ground, with their side-eyes and can’t-evens and sometimes straight-up judgmental disdain. Indeed, in many of the paintings that depict meme-worthy “ugly Renaissance babies,” one can find domestic cats and dogs appearing to have had more than enough of our nonsense—not to mention barnyard friends who are equally done with human interaction and just want to eat their flowers in peace.

The astonishing feline above, of whom we are not at all worthy, was memorialized by contemporary Dutch photographer Marie Cécile Thijs, whose work is inspired by the old masters. For her series White Collar, she photographed a delicate 17th century ruff from the collection of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam and, with digital techniques, put it on her models to create images like the modern-day Renaissance icon you see here, who would not be caught dead skulking on the floor of a Medici feast but would certainly enjoy a seat at the table. Just picture this queen sashaying through the door with Dürer’s lion (right) … You know they’d be utterly savage when you walked in, dressed like the human peasant you are. Are you fit to crimp that ruff? Probably not. But there’s a goat over by the minstrels’ gallery who wouldn’t mind getting his fur brushed.

Find Thijs’s work at mariececilethijs.com or follow her on Instagram @mariececilethijs.