Vittore Carpaccio
St. Thomas Aquinas with SS. Marc and Louis of Toulouse

Cat:

Did it come from here? I mean... the rustling. I'm sure it was somewhere around here. Near this large picture showing three men. One of them – the one in the middle – is sitting down and holding up his index finger. He's obviously explaining something to the others. The two on either side are just standing there and listening to him. And kneeling at his feet, there's another, smaller person... looks like a child.

Mouse:

It really is a kid, about 12 years old – a boy by name of Bernardino. And he's the son of the man who paid for the painting.

Cat:

The client's son, I see... Um... who said that? Did you hear that? Who's that speaking? And in such a squeaky, high-pitched voice. Erm... possibly…

… One of the angels up there? In the clouds. 'Hello? Can you speak?' 'Can you hear me?’ Hm. Nothing.

So the voice didn't come from up there. What about higher up, in the middle, where Mary is with the baby Jesus? The reason those two are right in the centre is because they're the most important people in the Christian faith. Little Jesus – Mary's son – is regarded as the Son of God. Though – I don't suppose it was them, either. Hmm...

Mouse:

Down here!

Cat:

Down here?! Erm... was that the same voice? What's it saying this time, ‘down here’? 

Mouse:

Indeeeed, down here. Under Saint Thomas's chair.

Cat:

Saint... Thomas's chair... Oh, down there! A nice little secret hiding place. My goodness, all kinds of things are stashed away in there. Books. And a little box with a key …

Mouse:

And a mouse!

Cat:

A… mouse?!?

Mouse:

A workshop mouse! But you can't see me. Because I'm hiding. In the picture. Behind little Bernardino's cloak.

Cat:

Bernardino... that was the one kneeling down. Excuse me?! A mouse?! In my Staatsgalerie?

A mouse that might well be nibbling on the 500-year-old paintings?

Mouse:

No way, I wouldn't dream of nibbling on the pictures. I live in the artists' workshops and studios, and I assist them when they're painting their pictures. And then, when the pictures are finished, I get in there and make myself at home. Like here, under Saint Thomas's chair.

This painting is actually supposed to remind us of the Dragan family from Venice. Made of money, they were. That's why Tommaso Dragan, Bernardino's dad, had a picture of his patron saint Thomas painted – along with other saints with the same names as members of his family– by Vittore Carpaccio, the artist who is the star of this exhibition. 

Cat:

And what about you?

Mouse:

I moved in with them. Under the chair. But I can live in any of the pictures!

Cat:

Those priceless paintings! Just you wait!

Mouse:

Hey, watch out! No need to get your claws out now, Moggy. Or you'll scratch the paint. But you won't be able to catch me anyway!