Children Teaching a Cat to Dance, Known as The Dancing Lesson, Jan Havicksz. Steen, 1660 - 1679
These children are up to mischief: they are teaching a cat to dance to the music of a small shawm. Widely used between the 15th and 17th centuries, the shawm was the predecessor of the oboe. Mostly played in dance and ceremonial music, shawms were appreciated for their loud tone.