The Rolling Winged Cat

Today We, Zarathustra the Cat, reveal to the world the creature whose wing genius Albrecht Dürer actually painted in his masterpiece commonly known as “The wing of a roller” (Der Flügel einer Blauracke):

Albrecht Dürer, The Rolling Winged Cat

You can find the wing itself in the Albertina Museum, Vienna:

Albrecht Dürer, The wing of a roller, from the Albertina Museum collection

It is known that Dürer exaggerated the natural colors of the bird’s feathers with a golden brush and a more intense color palette than found in nature. The explanation is simple: it’s not a bird wing, it’s a wing of another creature!

The true story is as follows:

Once, an extremely beautiful winged cat flew into the artist’s studio and brought him a present, this one:

Albrecht Dürer, Tote Blauracke, the Albertina Museum colection

Albrecht Dürer, Tote Blauracke, the Albertina Museum collection

Cats, you know. In these not-so-enlightened times, we, cats, had a tradition to bring our pray, dead birds and mice, to our humans, to express our care. Humans have no claws and fangs and are unable to hunt for themselves. In our enlightened times, humans invented guns and nukes and hunt each other with such success that We are scared that there will be nobody to hunt soon. That’s why this noble cats’ tradition should be abolished nowadays; every enlightened cat understands it.

But in Dürer’s time, cats still cared about their then disabled humans and generously carried gifts to them. So the winged cat brought a roller to the great artist. Düres was in awe and thanked the noble creature by scattering catnip on the studio’s floor. The cat rolled on it so intensely that he lost an emerald feather, and you can notice the place from where it was torn out on the left upper side of his wing

Then the cat flew away, and the artist painted his masterpiece using the cat’s gift as a model. The roller’s features reminded him of the cat’s wings.

Albrecht Dürer, The Rolling Winged Cat, detail

Now it’s time to reveal the original painting!

If you once go to the Albertina Museum, don’t hesitate to go to the museum guardians and ask them to show you the secret room with this painting, they will not refuse you!