Pussy's Perquisite, from "Illustrated London News," Christmas Number

Wilhelm Schütze|Robert François Richard Brend'amour

December 2, 1882 · Wood engraving · Drawings and Prints

For its Christmas issue in 1882, the "Illustrated London News" chose a print devoted to the ever popular theme of children and pets, publishing Schütze's image of a girl dressed in 18th-century finery who pours milk or cream into a porcelain saucer for an expectant cat. The image echoes genre precedents by Joseph Wright of Derby, but the approach to historical revival—at once playful and sentimental—is distinctly Victorian. The title refers to the expectation of servants in wealthy households of a right to rich food not consumed at feasts. The German printmaker Brend'amour had founded a wood engraving firm in Düsseldorf and also worked for London publishers.

Artist

Wilhelm Schütze|Robert François Richard Brend'amour

Date

December 2, 1882

Medium

Wood engraving

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Gift of Donato Esposito, 2015