Lady with a Raccoon

What the painting shows

The painting shows a red-haired woman with a fringe, wearing a long crimson gown in an 18th-century style, with a white chemise showing at the neckline and sleeves. On her head is a wide burgundy-purple hat with feathers and trimmings. She smiles slightly, tilts her head and looks at the viewer. In one hand she holds a red rose on a long green stem, and with the other arm she holds a raccoon against her chest.

The raccoon has the characteristic black mask around its eyes and grey-silver fur, and it looks straight at the viewer with curiosity. The background is a city scene: on the right a yellow-ochre townhouse with white-framed windows and blue shutters, and on the left a street in perspective with grey buildings, a black street lamp and a chequerboard pavement. In the foreground runs an ornate golden balustrade of a bridge or balcony.

The title "Lady with a Raccoon" and the English caption "Lady with trash panda" are a playful reference to Leonardo da Vinci's Lady with an Ermine. "Trash panda" is a popular internet nickname for raccoons, which love raiding bins.

Technique and style

A square oil painting on canvas in a simplified, illustrative manner, with flat areas of colour and clear outlines in the architecture. The raccoon is painted in more detail, with fur texture made by short brush strokes. The composition combines a historical costume with a modern city and internet humour.

At a glance

• Medium: oil paint
• Surface: canvas
• Orientation: square
• Dominant colours: crimson, red hair, ochre, navy, gold, silver grey
• Subjects: woman, raccoon, rose, historical costume, townhouses, street, Lady with an Ermine parody

Fun fact

Raccoons do not actually wash their food. Dunking their paws in water softens the tough skin and heightens the sensitivity of their extremely sensitive nerve endings, so they can "see" what they are holding by touch. In Germany, raccoons have lived in the wild since 1934, when two pairs were released by Lake Edersee in Hesse, reportedly to "enrich the fauna". Today there are more than a million of them.

Want a similar painting?

The Fart studio paints commissioned artwork: portraits of people and pets, landscapes and absurd scenes like this one. You can order a similar piece featuring woman, raccoon, rose, starring your own pet, a loved one or your favourite place. Just describe your idea in the contact form and attach a photo.