Fine Art

Children Teaching a Cat to Dance, Known as ‘The Dancing Lesson’ — History & Facts

Children try to teach a cat to dance to the music of a small shawm while the family dog barks at the commotion. A man watches through a small window above, and a lute hangs on the wall at right. Jan Steen's picture is full of noise: the shawm, the loud forerunner of the oboe, was mostly played for dances and ceremonies. In 1928 Joan Miró visited the Rijksmuseum, took home a postcard of this painting and transformed it into his Dutch Interior (II), now in the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, with the cat at its swirling center. Painted on panel between 1660 and 1679, it is in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

More Artworks by Jan Steen

A group of elegantly dressed figures play musical instruments around a table with a richly patterned cloth in a sunlit Dutch interior.

The Family Concert

Jan Steen

The Fish Market at Leyden, oil on canvas by Jan Steen, depicting a lively market scene.

The Fish Market at Leyden

Jan Steen

The Fair at Oegstgeest, oil painting by Jan Steen depicting a lively festival scene.

The Fair at Oegstgeest

Jan Steen

Village Fair by Jan Steen, oil on canvas, showing villagers enjoying a festive gathering.

Village Fair

Jan Steen

A lively interior scene depicting a gentleman offering wine to a lady with musicians and townsfolk.

A Gentleman Offering A Lady A Glass Of Wine With A Couple Making Music And Other Townsfolk In An Interior

Jan Steen

A lively scene depicting a dance lesson in a domestic setting.

The Dancing Lesson

Jan Steen

A lively scene depicting a doctor's visit in a domestic setting.

The Doctor’s Visit

Jan Steen

Jan Steen's 'The Life of Man' depicts a lively scene filled with various characters and activities.

The Life of Man

Jan Steen

A lively scene of peasants celebrating outside an inn.

Peasants Merrymaking Outside an Inn

Jan Steen

A woman feeds a parrot in a cozy interior scene by Jan Steen.

Interior with a Woman Feeding a Parrot, Known as ‘The Parrot Cage’

Jan Steen

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More Genre Scene Art

A group of Haarlem officers in colorful sashes gathers around a banquet table set with glassware, plates, and a large pie, with a patterned banner behind them.

Banquet of the Officers of the St George Civic Guard

Frans Hals

A man in a feathered hat smiles and raises a glass while holding a woman on his lap, both dressed in elaborate 17th-century clothing with a table of objects nearby.

Rembrandt and Saskia in the Scene of the Prodigal Son

Rembrandt van Rijn

A lively outdoor scene shows couples dancing and groups seated at tables under trees, with figures in flowing dresses and straw hats.

Bal du moulin de la Galette

Pierre-Auguste Renoir

A dancer in a vivid green dress stands with hands on hips facing forward, surrounded by figures in brown, black, and pink clothing with a balcony and loosely sketched background.

Quadrille at the Moulin Rouge

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

A Burial at Ornans

A Burial at Ornans

Gustave Courbet

Two Tahitian women sit against a yellow and blue background; one wears a pale green wrap and red skirt, the other a pink dress with white trim and necklace.

When Will You Marry?

Paul Gauguin

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