The protagonists of the painting are a cat and a rooster. Their figures fill nearly the entire scene. The cat stands on a low wall; directly beneath it, with wings spread, is the rooster.

The painting is rendered in brownish-grey tones, from which the white feathers of the bird stand out sharply. The animals are depicted in a momentary pause during their fight.

The grey-brown cat is shown in right profile. Its head leans downward toward the rooster. It stares at the bird with wide, brown eyes. Its white whiskers are taut, its ears stand erect. The cat arches its grey-brown back, poised to spring. Its front paws rest on the higher section of the wall, its hind paws on the lower. The fur covering its legs is striped with black and pale bands, painted with exceptional precision. Contrasting with the softness of the fur are the sharp, extended claws. The tail rises upward, bent into an inverted “S” shape.

The rooster stands beneath the wall, turned away from us. It lifts its head—topped with a red comb—slightly to the right. Its sharp beak is aimed at the cat’s lowered head. Its fluffed feathers are white, with grey and black appearing only at the tips of the wings and the tail. The spread wings signal readiness for attack.

The bird stands on brownish-grey ground. To the left of it lies a single white feather. In the dark background the faint outline of a landscape is barely discernible: trees and grey-brown masses of cloud.

As in many 17th-century animal paintings, the scene may be understood as a kind of parable of human emotions. Similar to fables popular in the Baroque era—where human behaviour was explored through animals—such works often contain metaphorical images of human flaws and vices.

Jacomo Victors was a Dutch painter associated with Amsterdam and Venice. He is known as a painter of birds—his favourite subject of observation. He created numerous scenes depicting hens, ducks, and pigeons.

Audio description consultation: Adrian Wyka
Content consultation: Miłosz Kargol