Cats have been charming humans for centuries (millenia, even!) and some very lucky cats have been immortalised in works of art. You might be familiar with the funny mediaeval cats that are often the stuff of memes, but there are feline masterpieces too.
From the iconic to the lesser-known, pawtraits to still life, we’ve rounded up a selection of artworks where cats have a starring role—or at least a very convincing supporting role—to bring you Art History For Cats...
Auguste Renoir. Woman with a Cat. c.1876.
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Renoir’s portrait, Woman with a Cat, is from the second half of the 19th century and shows a very familiar sight. It might be a painting from almost 150 years ago but nothing much has changed—we’ve just swapped oil paints for an iPhone camera.
Edouard Manet. Cats. 1868-1869.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
This is just one of many studies of cats drawn by the famous French artist Edouard Manet. He was a somewhat controversial artist for his time, known for depicting subjects from contemporary life, and cats seem to pop up surprisingly often in his work. The Tate has one of his unfinished paintings, the imaginatively titled Woman with a Cat, which shows his wife sitting with a cat on her lap.
Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen. À la Bodiniére. 1894.
The Art Institute of Chicago
If these cats in À la Bodiniére look familiar, it’s because Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen was also the artist behind *that* iconic Le Chat Noir poster. It was created two years after this print, in 1896, for the Parisian nightclub of the same name. Obviously a big fan of cats, Steinlen’s archive features many cats in his recognisable style, including portraits of cats for every season.
Giuseppe Recco. Cat Stealing Fish. Late 1660s.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Cats stealing food is a recurring theme in classic art. Italian artist Giuseppe Recco’s painting Cat Stealing Fish has a cat in the starring (and criminal) role. While a cat stealing an entire octopus might not be a typical sight these days, the look of slightly panicked guilt on the cat’s face shows that some things never change.
Sebastiano Lazzari. Still life with a cat. 1760.
Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
What did we tell you about cats stealing food? We could have made an entire article about paintings of cats sneaking food from the table. This painting from 1760, Still life with a cat, stars a cat who is convinced he can have a little salami, as a treat.
Jean-Baptiste Perronneau. Magdaleine Pinceloup de la Grange, née de Parseval. 1747.
Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
This painting from 1747 makes us want to commission our own oil painting portraits with our pets. Even back in the 18th century, people cared for their pets so much that when they sat for portraits, they brought their pets along too—although if modern cats are anything to go by, this cat certainly wouldn’t have been sitting patiently to be painted.
David Teniers the Younger. Katzenkonzert. 1649-1651.
Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
17th century art was wild. This one is called The Concert Of Cats: the cats are singing, an owl appears to be the choir master, and they’re being accompanied by small monkeys playing musical instruments. We have more questions than answers.
19/10/2022 by NatuTeam