The Virgin and Child with the Cat and the Snake

This tender, domestic scene of the Virgin and Child includes some fundamental Christian symbols. As the cat plays with the hem of Mary’s dress at left, a snake slithers out from underneath. Mary however has managed to trap the snake under her foot, thus foreshadowing Christ’s destiny as the Redeemer, the triumph of Good over Evil and the overcoming of the Original Sin. Outside, Joseph looks in through the window, present but separate from the Virgin and Child. This plate is part of a small, probably never completed series of prints of a modest, horizontal format dedicated to various scenes from the childhood and youth of Christ (see also lots 31, 36 & 41). Rembrandt's figure of the Virgin closely embracing the Christ child is clearly inspired by Mantegna's engraving of the Virgin and Child of circa 1470-1480 (B. 8; see p. 6), an impression of which he may have seen or even held in his extensive collection of prints.