noon
The artist 's six cats glided about among the easels , or stretched their limbs on costly velvet and Arabian carpets . In one corner stood a small bed with silk curtains -- the nursery of the master 's pets . A magnificent white cat was suckling her kittens in it . Two blue and yellow cockatoos and several parrots swung screaming in brass hoops before the open window , and Coello 's coal-black negro crept about , cleaning the floor of the spacious apartment , though it was already noon . While engaged in this occupation , he constantly shook his woolly head , displaying his teeth , for his master was singing loudly at his work , and the gaily-clad African loved music . What a transformation bad taken place in the Netherlander 's quiet , orderly , scrupulously neat studio ! But , even amid this confusion , admirable works were created ; nay , the Spaniard possessed a much more vivid imagination , and painted pictures , containing a larger number of figures and far more spirited than Moor 's , though they certainly were not pervaded by the depth and earnestness , the marvellous fidelity to nature , that characterized those of Ulrich 's beloved master .