Fat Boy and Fat Cat

We, Zarathustra the Cat, are so kind to say Our meow in support of the campaign for natural beauty and against models’ anorexia. If you are not suffering from anorexia like We don’t suffer from it, did anybody mock you because of your weight in your childhood? Maybe somebody teased you as “fatso” or “the big-bellied Ben”? Don’t be upset, these people don’t understand true Beauty, as ancient Greek philosopher Parmenides who thought that the ideal being is purr-fect sphere (for sure he meant Us, Zarathustra the Cat).
In the XVII century, at Dutch Golden Age, when there were no glossy magazines with slim models, they thought that it was not ugly to have a big belly. But some people believed that personal fat storage was correlated to money storage and that obese people are not modest and they are thinking too much about material matters.
Let us have a look at the Portrait of Gerard Andriesz. Bicker by Bartholomeus van der Helst which often serves as an example of a spoiled aristocrat’s image because of Gerard’s chic costume, his obesity, and the smug look in his eyes. What the original version of the masterpiece reveals:

Bartholomeus van der Helst. Fat Boy and Fat Cat.

The masterpiece reveals Us, Zarathustra the Cat, appearing from Gerard’s silk outfit folds.
Maybe Bicker was not so fat actually? This boy at his age of 17 already held many responsible offices, and had a lot of other things to do than just enjoy his meals.
Maybe the reason for his big belly was that he loved his fat cat so much that brought him everywhere hidden in his rich costume The cat was sleeping at his belly thus helping him to resolve difficult human problems. You know, how sleeping cats help to resolve difficult issues!
The portrait shows the moment when Gerard heard that other boys teased him as “fatso” and “bacon burger”. He just put his hands to his sides preparing to reply something like hmmm, “go away you idlers”. But at that moment the Cat appeared from his costume folds and said “Wait a minute Gerard, a BURGER is what I’ve heard?”
Peace and friendship installed immediately, and the boys all together hurried to feed the fat cat.

Thus the original version of the portrait gives much more understanding of the relationship between skinny and large people than the currently known version to be found at Rijksmuseum: the museum version may suppose that Bicker looked like that at his counterparts just because he had more money.

Bartholomeus van der Helst, Portrait of Gerard Andriesz. Bicker

That happened in the 17th century in Amsterdam.
Cats always soften tension between humans.
Just to notice, with the progress of science everybody now knows that you shouldn’t feed your cat with hamburgers, but only with cat food or organic products.

Thus speaks Zarathustra the Cat
 

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