Cats in Art: Young Boy With a Cat (Renoir)

From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. I am using some ideas from the coffee table book, The Cat in Art, by Stefano Zuffi.

Image credit The Artchive, here.  Young Boy With a Cat, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1868, oil on canvas, 44" x 26", Musee d'Orsay, Paris, France.

And a detail of the kitty:

Image credit Musee d'Orsay, here.

 

Zuffi's analysis:

Renoir, one of the 19th century  painters who showed the greatest interest in cats, offers us this splendid portrait, filled with sensuality and affection for the animal.

The full sized-image I find a little bit creepy.  Although it is a great rendering, it looks staged and unnatural.  Plus I just don't know of any boys who spend naked time with their cats.

The close-up really shows the cat to advantage--it looks quite serene and enjoying the attention.