Someone Noticed How Ugly Medieval Cat Paintings Are, And It’s Too Funny (60 Pics)
Ever tried to paint a cat? It turns out that it’s not as easy as you might expect. It indeed wasn’t for these Medieval artists anyway! While they excelled at painting religious scenes, portraits of Royalty, and naked ladies, this particular type of pussy offered an altogether different challenge.
There are a couple of reasons why these funny cats look as they do in the Medieval art depictions. One of them is that the primary purpose of these paintings was to translate the religious scripts to the illiterate (bear in mind that there were relatively few people who could read - monks, priests, and the nobility), and the other, unnecessary details weren't so scrupulously painted.
On the other hand, linear perspective, giving a painting depth, was not systemized until the Italian Renaissance. That's why the given ugly cats look so flat and slightly misshapen.
While most of them have got the basic shape of a feline down to a reasonable tee in these cat illustrations, it is the face that seems to provide the biggest problem. Instead of the cute kitten features we all know and love, the artists instead appear to favor a grim, almost human-like look that makes these cat paintings look a bit, well, scary. I guess the drawings do prove, though, that we have been obsessed with sharing cat memes since way before the internet!
Scroll down to check out the list of Medieval funny cat memes compiled by Bored Panda below, and don’t forget to vote for your favorites!
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Yeah... Fish Is Not Gonna Work, You'll Have To Try Harder
Ask away, we shall attempt to answer by making up funny stories ;)
Load More Replies...'Flaisch macht flaisch' (flesh begets flesh) in this drawing means people having sex results in having babies. The nun in this drawing is being mocked for wanting to have sex and/or a child, neither of which she's allowed to have since she's a nun.
Really interesting commentary & comments here: https://vulgarcrowd.wordpress.com/2015/10/19/the-naughty-nun-a-raunchy-woodcut-from-1555/
Done With Life
It was common for the artist to put their own face into paintings - hidden in another smaller figure such as a cat, or even a horse. Art is filled with this type of play. It is ignorant to think the artist didn't know what a cat looks like.
What A Cutie
did someone start to paint a person then went 'ah f**k it - now it's a cat' ?????
"Vlad used to be able to change into any animal, but now he never gets the faces right."
Now we know where fred armisen got his inspiration for franklin.
White Cat
Melancholic Cat Plays The Lyre
Cat With Eyebrows
Cats actually do have eyebrows, but they're thin, very long and most importantly scarce. Same goes for dogs and most mammals.
It does look like Bobby from King of the Hill!!
Load More Replies...Hey Cat. Stop Licking Your Butt On The Book Of Maccabees Or You’ll Get An Arrow
Genius. I hope the guy who drew her got a good long laugh--all the way to his next 7-year transcription
Sneaking a rudie in where he could get away with it. " and nobody noticed " . ?
Load More Replies...The True King
This is why cezanne preferred to work with fruit.
Load More Replies...‘I didn’t realise the job interview was for a King of the Blue Cats when I applied...’
Kitty looks like he FINALLY let go of a fart he has been holding in since the start of the painting..
This Must Be A Cat From The Hallucinogenic Meadows Of Scotland
If this is acceptable, then I'm a cat-drawing prodigy! (My skills are mediocre.)
This Cat Is Starring Into Your Soul
This painting is good compared to the others but oh dear the mouth and the lipstick!
I Know I Don't Want To Know What These Two Just Saw
A cat and a lion are clinging together like Scooby and Shaggy. What are they looking at?
That cat looks more like a ferret. Regardless I'd probably be looking similarly if a lion had me in a bear hug!
This Bathing Cat
Yeah Frank, I'm taking a bath, so what?! paint a picture, it'll last longer! oh...
An amazing number of modern Cats like to go swimming, and there's evidence from European Fishing Villages of local Cats who regularly swim out to boats.
The Cat You Cannot Unsee
After seeing these pics,somehow my cat looks and acts normal...kind of.
I Want To Have Whatever That Cat Is Having
I love that in Great Britain you have a s**t, and in America you take a s**t. But no where on earth do you LEAVE a s**t... which is actually what happens.
Load More Replies...Yo cat dude, wtf are you looking at? You trippin' man? I told you not to eat that old tuna brah!
Dog looks mad though... lol the start of why cats and dogs don't get along
Look At Those Lovely Eyes
Casual Cat Life
Is it a rat or a baby cat? based on the other cats in this article, I really cant tell anymore
Load More Replies...Just 3 cats chilling with their pet canary, & their seeing eye rat.
The front legs look like chicken drumsticks while the back legs look like toothpics. Lol someone got thier cat leg anatomy backwards.
Okay, if we hide him over here, no one will notice....DUDE, can you stop licking yourself for one minute and help us with this? DAMN, you never stop!
Is bro in the corner sleeping or giving himself a little blowie?
This Bishop Cat
Day 538: they still have not noticed that I am a cat. All is according to plan...
I like to move it! Move it! I like to move it move it! I like to MOVE IT!
Medieval Cheshire Cat
Looks like the tail is sprouting from the foot at first glance. I'd say the gargoyle face meant this painter did not like cats.
The cat has a butt bigger than mine and where in the world is his "tail" connected to??? Or is it a tail after all???
Is This A Cat, A Dog Or A Boar?
The One And Only Love
Kitteh looks angry. Then again if that guy was trying to kiss my lips I'd be angry too.
ACKKKKK I JUST HAD TO SCROLLL DOWN TWO MORE FRICKING PICS WHAT THE HELL
Cat Rider
Cat seems rather shocked by the naked hooman and his sudden ability to be airborne
I'm thinking the cats eyes reflect the state of undress of its rider, lol
Why is this dude trying to ride me? See hooman, this is what happens when you eat weird berries in the woods...
Defiant Cat Riding A Horse
I Has Mowse
Weird, huh? Also, the cat is handling that mouse very gingerly. Is he taking the mouse to the vet?
Load More Replies...I've never seen a cat who stares at the heavens while catching a mouse.
Nativity Scene
Two monkey sloth things birthed a micro-cat... sort of reminds me of Mr. Garrison's classic explanation of Evolution.
2 monkey's and a cat in a cradle!? Sounds like the beginning of a song.
Snailcat
Zombie Petting A Cat
This Looks Like A Lizard Pretending To Be A Cat
did a white cat catch a black rat...or did a white dog catch a black cat......
Cats are great to have around if you have an imp infestation in your basement!
Catnip Trip
Just wondering,are any of these artists actually artists??
Load More Replies...All natural cat nip... that cat looks blitzed.. look how bloodshot it's eyes are!
Magpie Inspecting The Cat’s Butt
Catsnail
Another catsnail?! Is this a species that went extinct and we were unlucky enough to have know its majesty?!
Medieval OMG Cat
Wild Cats
I think they are weasels. I thought that the one in the tree was the body of one turned into some abominable object of worship at first, but it is a weasel getting some bird eggs.
Well whatever it is, I thought they were sheep at first lol 😆
Load More Replies...and are they crawling out of the ground? are they groundhog cats?
Load More Replies...I want to say they might actually be something from the weasel family, but I can't say for sure. It would explain the really long necks.
Because Why Shouldn't A Cat Be Playing A Stringed Instrument?
Cat Churning Butter
It's hard for me to get my cat to do this. Maybe I should have had her stick to culturing yogurt.
Cats’ Habits
the middle one has the pattern of .. The Dress https://www.google.com/search?q=the+dress&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj9g57bt4_aAhUOVa0KHWFlA4YQ_AUICigB&biw=1250&bih=652 😂
Yes, what colors does the cat look like to you?!?
Load More Replies...Bipedal Cat Monsters Eating A Leech?
That Kitten Is Not... Ok
Yes. The Medieval monk imagery all pivoted around sin & salvation. Cats resembled appetite & ego, apes & monkeys represented man without the desire for Christian salvation. Plus, some of those monks had a wicked sense of humor and probably just did it to make funnies.
Load More Replies...Okay so why is the monkey so sinister?? The smirk betrays his dastardly plans to force the cat to perform in the local nativity a few scrolls over.
Don't know wtf it looks like but it's definitely not a rat...rats are way cuter 😂
A Feline With The Blues
🎶 I take a couple uppers/I down a couple downers/ but nothing compares to these blue and yellow purple pills/ I've been to mushroom mountain/ once or twice but who's countin'/ but nothin' compares to these blue and yellow purple pills. 🎶
I Can Has A Spindle?
Cloaked And Flower-Tailed Feline
Queen Cat And A Monkey Pope Tripping Balls?
I am wholly convinced EVERYONE and their mother was tripping balls straight from ancient rome until the 1500s. That's why they call it the dark ages, everyone was fried beyond belief.
Monkey Hugging A Kitten - No Wonder The She Took It As Her Own
Why do they put so many monkeys with the cats? Is it because monkeys used to be common as pets?
Medieval Cat Or The Ouroboros? 'Tis The Catouroboros
claws would have been in the way of the text
Load More Replies...What's with trying to paint all these cats licking their butts
Cats actually lie like this when asleep, its called the pretzel 🤣
My mind immediately jumped to Xenoblade Chronicles Three bc of the title lol
Alien Cat
White Cat
Dude! Are you sure that catnip wasn't laced? Then why did I burn my whiskers and eyelashes off one side of my face man? WHY?
Winged Cross-Eyed Kitteh
Butt Licking Cat
There are so many of them licking their butts! Must have made those Medieval artists jealous.
Medieval painters had a weird fascination with cats cleaning thier backsides.
You are just jealous that this cat (and perhaps every cat) has a cleaner butt than you do!
As long as the painter didn't get kisses after this, they should be fine
He Hates Meeces To Pieces
Classic Cat And Mouse Relationship
I think it's a rat, not a mouse. It is pretty evil-looking. The drawing of the cat is not so bad (besides the front leg bending in a non-anatomical manner).
Is that a snake biting the cat's a** or is that just a really long cat tail?
Hudy-Gurdy Cat
Someone Please Take That Kitten Out Of It's Misery
I think this painting represents the care and affection we show our pet cats through the monkey And how the cats are desperate to escape it
Floral Border Cat
I love this one and would not mind a throw pillow of it- or some kind of a tapestry..
The King Of The Cats... Or Maybe Demons That Went Through A Food Processor?
Is he sitting on his tail?... ...Or does he have a long, prehensile penis?
Initial Cat
Drumming Cat
Yo listen up here’s a story... Bout a little guy that’s blue, inside and outside Blue his house, with a blue little window
Marginal Kitten
Devil And The Cat Worshippers Kissing The Cat’s Butt
The look on the Devil's face looks like he's been into the Devil's lettuce.
Um one guy is kissing his butt. The others can't believe they actually got him to do it.
Kissing A Cat
Mouse Holder
They're worried for tomorrow. Trying to make ends meet. Humble working people.
Load More Replies...Hey, these are the same cats from "Typical cat life" ! What is this? a rerun?
Looks like The cat is trying to brag about his mouse, but nobody is listening so he’s about to give up
Keyboard Cat
I always wonder, though, what people in the future will think about Garfield. He doesn't exactly look like a cat either, but he fits into the stylistic aesthetic of our age. Maybe these are just medieval Garfields.
Maybe all the munks/painters where just having fun, thinking about how we would énterprit the paintings 1000 years later.... I love your theory :)
Load More Replies...They didn't have a talent for drawing any kind of animals really. Especially felines! Just go to a random church and look at some of the lions drawn on the walls.
Who knew there were so many cats in medieval manuscripts. Now someone do all the monkeys.
Okay, these cats don't all look like what we know as cats today. But look at it this way: these were monks painting these cats, and living in remote spots with other men didn't give these artists many opportunities to find out what pussies looked like. Oh! No! Pussy _cats_!
I actually really want to get a tattoo leg sleeve of medieval cat paintings but im afraid the tattooist will be rediculed
I always wonder, though, what people in the future will think about Garfield. He doesn't exactly look like a cat either, but he fits into the stylistic aesthetic of our age. Maybe these are just medieval Garfields.
Maybe all the munks/painters where just having fun, thinking about how we would énterprit the paintings 1000 years later.... I love your theory :)
Load More Replies...They didn't have a talent for drawing any kind of animals really. Especially felines! Just go to a random church and look at some of the lions drawn on the walls.
Who knew there were so many cats in medieval manuscripts. Now someone do all the monkeys.
Okay, these cats don't all look like what we know as cats today. But look at it this way: these were monks painting these cats, and living in remote spots with other men didn't give these artists many opportunities to find out what pussies looked like. Oh! No! Pussy _cats_!
I actually really want to get a tattoo leg sleeve of medieval cat paintings but im afraid the tattooist will be rediculed
