Children Teaching a Cat to Dance or The Dancing Lesson is a c.1660–1679 oil on panel painting by Jan Steen, now in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

Children Teaching a Cat to Dance, Known as ‘The Dancing Lesson’
Artist	Jan Steen
Year	c.1660–1679
Medium	oil paint, panel
Dimensions	68.5 cm (27.0 in) × 59 cm (23 in)
Location	Rijksmuseum, Netherlands
Owner	Jacobus Salomon Hendrik van de Poll
Accession No.	SK-A-718
Identifiers	RKDimages ID: 6390
[edit on Wikidata]

The painting depicts a group of children attempting to make a cat dance to the music of a shawm. The cat is screeching and the dog barking but the children are having fun. However, the old man at the window clearly disapproves of their behaviour.

The work is a typical example of Steen's indoor scenes of everyday Dutch life.

Origin

The work comes from the collection of the jonkheer Jacob Salomon Hendrik van de Poll (1837-1880) in Amsterdam. He bequeathed his collection to the Rijksmuseum in 1880.

External links

• SK-A-718 painting record on museum website

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