Cats in Art: Cat and Dead Game (Desportes)

From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art.  Having moved on from Stefano Zuffi's marvelous work, The Cat in Art, I am now using some ideas from Caroline Bugler's equally impressive book, The Cat/3500 Years of the Cat in Art.  

This'll be the first of several Alexandre-Francois Desportes paintings that will be featured here.

Image credit The Great Cat, Cat and Dead Game,  Alexandre-Francois Desportes, ca 1700-1750, oil on canvas, dimensions unknown, held in a private collection.

Typically here I place a close-up of the the cat image, though in this case there is no need for a kitty close-up: the cat pretty much fills this painting.

This is an absolutely gorgeous painting.  The bride and I having once had a beautiful black and white kitty, I suppose I might be biased a bit towards such cats.  But gorgeous seems to be the only word that does this painting justice.  The cat is perfectly rendered, with outstanding detail of the fur, the face, the feet, the eyes, the whiskers.... I guess you get the idea that I kinda love this painting!  I would love to see it in person to be able to scope out the actual brushstrokes.

However, the sad part of this painting is that it is held in a private collection.  Without sounding too much like Indiana Jones, it belongs in a museum for all the world to see.

Note that back in 2010 I did another Desportes painting, much better known, called Cats Attacking Dead Game.  Here's the link for you to click over and enjoy!

[Gary note: With my Cats in Arts posts, I encourage you to scope out the art appreciation site Artsy (I have no financial interest in the site, I just like it), where you can explore many aspects of the world of art.  You'll certainly be entertained and enlightened!]