tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7752797756003712292024-03-13T17:40:13.872-04:00Mister TristanThe Softer Side of Ultrarunning
(anything beyond 26 miles)
...philosophy...politics...other stuffGary...a relative of Mister Tristanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458735546068405044noreply@blogger.comBlogger2075125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775279775600371229.post-68572605924680055852018-12-02T05:00:00.000-05:002018-12-02T05:00:07.895-05:00Cats in Art: Covered Cat Dish (Westmoreland Glass Specialty Co)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 27px;">From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. Having moved on </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">from Stefano Zuffi's marvelous work, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">The Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 27px;">I am now using some ideas from </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Caroline Bugler's equally impressive book, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">The Cat/3500 Years of the Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">. You really should check out and/or own both of these wonderful works, easily available on Amazon or eBay (and I have no financial </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">interest).</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfs0GyM5R4yySNGvqPUTGxVdVerxCRNHj0TJxSXokmsfmi7OIgy9PhgS8TTvyz4I3rJGT3ke2z5B_DB9T0eeMpzJKYLKzbCHmyWH98vfewD56Q9EkvJawEyHb5a5wup-IsGTHKDdgBwknS/s1600/IMG_4196.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfs0GyM5R4yySNGvqPUTGxVdVerxCRNHj0TJxSXokmsfmi7OIgy9PhgS8TTvyz4I3rJGT3ke2z5B_DB9T0eeMpzJKYLKzbCHmyWH98vfewD56Q9EkvJawEyHb5a5wup-IsGTHKDdgBwknS/s640/IMG_4196.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Image credit Gary, taken at the <a href="https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/">Heinz History Center</a>, Pittsburgh, PA, <i>Covered Cat Dish</i>, ca 1895, Westmoreland Glass Specialty Company, Grapeville, PA, opaque blue and white glass, pressed.<br />
<br />
The bride and I were back in Pittsburgh in October to see the Paul Simon concert with our college friends (it was GREAT!). During a rainy afternoon we needed to stay inside so we headed to the Heinz History Center where the past of Pittsburgh, with a special emphasis on the Heinz Company, is superbly documented.<br />
<br />
The museum was short on cats, with this gorgeous exception. It literally is little larger than a muffin, but just beautiful.<br />
<br />
As a special treat, here are a couple of advice-y nuggets from the founder of the feast himself, H. J. Heinz:<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWcsjJgeRFpu_8iQ8ZX-oTNjpld6rDYHyYBKNZy6aRQtMBMaxA189ft68VMDy99HlxvH8aB1kkr273sN4vlIkpOgXBfjO8_UJwSG0INCSku8BWBHJDf5d4u-Y_-ckn25Yml1vDd4sbV-xS/s1600/IMG_4194.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWcsjJgeRFpu_8iQ8ZX-oTNjpld6rDYHyYBKNZy6aRQtMBMaxA189ft68VMDy99HlxvH8aB1kkr273sN4vlIkpOgXBfjO8_UJwSG0INCSku8BWBHJDf5d4u-Y_-ckn25Yml1vDd4sbV-xS/s400/IMG_4194.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCzlnvttVy9E-cn3DyivQgtlSBuWXkXRm2Ko43auDD_b38AEIEIuEoweSLFoXnAxYwZ78sKOlJd-BqY7iQSEa_WTyqMf9946j0bVhR_flae7jarqWz2cOFeEUPDygtgSckrY9JCDAdZbyM/s1600/IMG_4195.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCzlnvttVy9E-cn3DyivQgtlSBuWXkXRm2Ko43auDD_b38AEIEIuEoweSLFoXnAxYwZ78sKOlJd-BqY7iQSEa_WTyqMf9946j0bVhR_flae7jarqWz2cOFeEUPDygtgSckrY9JCDAdZbyM/s400/IMG_4195.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />Gary...a relative of Mister Tristanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458735546068405044noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775279775600371229.post-41904836443509192012018-11-11T10:35:00.000-05:002018-11-11T10:35:11.738-05:00Armistice Day...Every Family Has a Story<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>[Gary Note: Blogging, of late, has been taking a back seat to life...which is as it should be. But today </i><i>you're getting a pair of posts!</i><i>]</i><br /></span><br />
<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative;">
<span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">============================</span></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Armistice Day...Every Family Has a Story</span><br />
<div class="post-header" style="line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;">
<div class="post-header-line-1">
</div>
</div>
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-1938722551664427552" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 830px;">
<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: -1px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
<em style="color: #333333; line-height: 27px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">I am reposting the same post I have put up for the past several years on 11 Nov, commemorating the end of World War I.</span></em></h3>
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6120498009287537369" itemprop="description articleBody" style="color: #333333; line-height: 27px; position: relative; width: 830px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">============================<br /><br />For <strike>Veteran's</strike> Armistice Day (as it was originally called)....<br /><br />Every family has a story. My mother told me of my great-grandfather, Julius (or Jules?) Brinkmann, who was killed on this date in 1918 in World War I on the Western Front.<br /><br />Word of the armistice, which took effect the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month of 1918, did not reach all the lines in real time. He was killed sometime later that day, AFTER the armistice.<br /><br />He would have been one of the very last casualties of the Great War. You know, the war that was supposed to end all wars.<br /><br />Oh, and he was a German. Funny, that really doesn't seem to matter, does it?<br /><br />What is <strong><u>your</u></strong> family story? Please comment.<br /><br />This is a generic photo, not of Julius--because my Mom's family lost ALL their possessions, including family photos, when they were bombed out in Frankfurt in WW II--but it could have been.<br /><br /></span><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6850210576742601855" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 830px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlnNKaBk61-mca68y0hOlW1qOXBA5J6mBMJAGC2Je0ennTPZj1PEup7GOr2giFVgNSyyKsX2PM6BDlAZC_CR5X38vHORCU42Ebi83LkvGy-_BGXEUDGNMGquap6chNVFee82egTiVP29uc/s1600/Brinkmann+Julius.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #191919; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" closure_uid_43s9mf="3" closure_uid_9qkb5i="2" height="640" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlnNKaBk61-mca68y0hOlW1qOXBA5J6mBMJAGC2Je0ennTPZj1PEup7GOr2giFVgNSyyKsX2PM6BDlAZC_CR5X38vHORCU42Ebi83LkvGy-_BGXEUDGNMGquap6chNVFee82egTiVP29uc/s640/Brinkmann+Julius.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; background-color: white; border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221) rgb(192, 192, 192) rgb(192, 192, 192) rgb(221, 221, 221); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 6px; position: relative;" width="457" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Photo credit <a href="http://www.world-war-pictures.com/war-poster/wger004" style="color: #191919; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: black;">here</span></a>.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Gary...a relative of Mister Tristanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458735546068405044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775279775600371229.post-32501262714808506922018-11-11T10:23:00.001-05:002018-11-11T10:23:15.787-05:00Cats in Art: Four Studies of Kittens (Desportes)<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 27px;">From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. Having moved on </span><span style="background-color: white;">from Stefano Zuffi's marvelous work, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">The Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">, </span><span style="line-height: 27px;">I am now using some ideas from </span><span style="background-color: white;">Caroline Bugler's equally impressive book, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">The Cat/3500 Years of the Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">. You really should check out and/or own both of these wonderful works, easily available on Amazon or eBay (and I have no financial </span><span style="background-color: white;">interest).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxVDgNxhPDnWmYjeBuWqQqkZ9JGnFooBBU4VoNPmsmQYpPwHhIoFh4mT9L6ovfPGFcLatfNnSjZf5hkKNSljz6RdiYF9DmkrVDR5-c15NWMdgGoeEnHIaUM2ipibtqq3pKHzHRkshwfwWU/s1600/Snip20181111_1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="589" data-original-width="933" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxVDgNxhPDnWmYjeBuWqQqkZ9JGnFooBBU4VoNPmsmQYpPwHhIoFh4mT9L6ovfPGFcLatfNnSjZf5hkKNSljz6RdiYF9DmkrVDR5-c15NWMdgGoeEnHIaUM2ipibtqq3pKHzHRkshwfwWU/s640/Snip20181111_1.png" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Image credit </span><a href="http://community.artauthority.net/work.asp?wid=80345&pos=4" style="font-family: inherit;">Community ArtAuthority</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">Four Studies of Kittens</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">, Alexandre-Francois Desportes, ca 1710, oil on light brown paper, 10" x 20", held in a private collection.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Bulger's comment:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #d9ead3;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The artist has depicted yowling kittens so </span>convincingly<span style="font-family: inherit;"> that one can </span>almost<span style="font-family: inherit;"> hear their cries. Desportes was the </span>foremost animal painter in France in the early years of the 18th century...his considerable success was founded on accurate observation and the ability to convey a sense of each animal as an individual.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">What's not to like about kittens, except that these guys all seem to be in some greater or lesser extent of agitation? The only one of the crew that seems somewhat calmer than the other felines is the one at the top center, and even that kitty seems a tad on edge as it seems to mew rather than </span>holler<span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br />
<br />
Bulger believes that this oil sketch was later finalized as this painting. I featured that painting <a href="https://mistertristan.blogspot.com/2016/09/cats-in-art-dog-and-cat-fighting-in.html">here at </a><i><a href="https://mistertristan.blogspot.com/2016/09/cats-in-art-dog-and-cat-fighting-in.html">Cats in Art</a> </i>a couple of years ago.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTheJZIvFXTrZ_gKXgi1oMoO3JDkfQpVMJlXNVxvdZ47Z-I6Dfb6Rp3JmGMQah0PVC8HWufRyEwFRK3jkYT9OSfSKay6An9aZhAqEh2BA3kaLj03BfcIIp341a4PUJOE-ffIiVzBrxk_nF/s1600/Snip20181111_4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="691" data-original-width="933" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTheJZIvFXTrZ_gKXgi1oMoO3JDkfQpVMJlXNVxvdZ47Z-I6Dfb6Rp3JmGMQah0PVC8HWufRyEwFRK3jkYT9OSfSKay6An9aZhAqEh2BA3kaLj03BfcIIp341a4PUJOE-ffIiVzBrxk_nF/s640/Snip20181111_4.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Image credit <a href="http://community.artauthority.net/work.asp?wid=10773&pos=1">Community ArtAuthority</a>, <i>A Dog and a Cat Fighting in a Kitchen Interior</i>.<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">[Gary note: With my </span><i style="background-color: white;">Cats in Arts</i><span style="background-color: white;"> posts, I encourage you to scope out the art appreciation site </span><a href="https://www.artsy.net/" style="background-color: white; color: #7c93a1; text-decoration: none;">Artsy</a><span style="background-color: white;"> (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!]</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
Gary...a relative of Mister Tristanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458735546068405044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775279775600371229.post-56739459876248869872018-11-04T05:00:00.000-05:002018-11-04T05:00:06.278-05:00Cats in Art: Gray Cat on a Cushion (Kirchner)Sorry for being dark, changes coming. Here is a Cats in Art post that I ran 5 years ago in Nov 2013. Here's the <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=775279775600371229#editor/target=post;postID=4228064575539588565;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=3;src=postname">original link</a>.<br />
<br />
=============<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. I'm using some ideas from the coffee table book, <em>The Cat in Art</em>, by Stefano Zuffi. This is post 2 of 3 examining the cat works of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, and, like last week, is a post-World War I work.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPphB5OzaGiWlqgj-8OoKV1dz7125yJ4rVMcfilO-Mb0ud9IMUGL6-Y0kP6TUH-sl8qsM1_ajHiXBq5YlnAXpyfomOen4hMF0Gz9v0bYkMjM326_B4IOmsJ3D8Vz1W8_qPp-WhVGPseSK6/s1600/kirchner+Gray+Cat+on+a+Cushion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPphB5OzaGiWlqgj-8OoKV1dz7125yJ4rVMcfilO-Mb0ud9IMUGL6-Y0kP6TUH-sl8qsM1_ajHiXBq5YlnAXpyfomOen4hMF0Gz9v0bYkMjM326_B4IOmsJ3D8Vz1W8_qPp-WhVGPseSK6/s400/kirchner+Gray+Cat+on+a+Cushion.jpg" width="370" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Image credit Art is Not for Sissies, <a href="http://artisnotforsissies.wordpress.com/tag/painting/">here</a>. <em>Gray Cat on a Cushion</em>, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, 1919-20, oil on canvas, 31" x 27", held by Museum am Ostwall, Dortmund, Germany.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Zuffi comments: </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
A comparison between Kirchner's works before and after the First World War highlights with dramatic effect the state of mind of a German intellectual. The cat is tense, the forward-pointing whiskers a clear sign of nervousness; and its tail looks as it is about to beat against the cushion. The animal's glaring eyes and the violent colors in the background, where the fabric seems to evoke explosive flashes of light, add to this painting's sense of tension.</blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
In this image Zuffi descriptively nails it--the kitty is agitated, restless, ready to detonate. One would try to pet this cat at one's own risk (I know this, for we have a similarly twitchy cat who can go from a hiss to a purr--and back--in less than 10 seconds).</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
I do love the background as well. The colors are quite at odds with the central image of the cat, but contribute to the overall discordance of the scene.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
In looking at the series of chronological works of Kirchner, I could see the light openness of his earlier works being supplanted by his somewhat darker post-war art. He was quite changed by his experiences as a soldier in the war...and who could not be?</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Here is a telling quote from Kirchner himself on the war (as found in The Art Story, <a href="http://www.theartstory.org/artist-kirchner-ernst-ludwig.htm">here</a>):</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The heaviest burden of all is the pressure of the war and the increasing superficiality. It gives me incessantly the impression of a bloody carnival. I feel as though the outcome is in the air and everything is topsy-turvy. All the same, I keep on trying to get some order in my thoughts and to create a picture of the age out of confusion, which is after all my function." </blockquote>
Through all the madness, Kirchner still knew what he had to do as an artist:<br />
<br />
<em><span style="color: blue;"> "...I keep on trying to get some order in my thoughts and to create a picture of the age out of confusion, which is after all my function."</span></em><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Gary...a relative of Mister Tristanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458735546068405044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775279775600371229.post-39275853344525871282018-10-06T05:00:00.000-04:002018-10-06T05:00:10.047-04:00Cats in Art: La Duchesse Abrantes et le General Junot (Gerard)<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 27px;">From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. Having moved on </span><span style="background-color: white;">from Stefano Zuffi's marvelous work, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">The Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">, </span><span style="line-height: 27px;">I am now using some ideas from </span><span style="background-color: white;">Caroline Bugler's equally impressive book, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">The Cat/3500 Years of the Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">. You really should check out and/or own both of these wonderful works, easily available on Amazon or eBay (and I have no financial </span><span style="background-color: white;">interest).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is the last of several posts on </span>the<span style="font-family: inherit;"> cat art of Marguerite Gerard.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9DvuCh2iTh-iwYnmgOuTGB0t52UJ2h4ulQrWM-SHFx5N9lQDd_a1rMbJJXsojl91j0-RemtihgJ-geDrS1lBEHZEjuAqfi5vNlzrR8P5s9jdGm5-_Mv4zTaeWSOFvVzCHLgN8Gkz4mvo-/s1600/Snip20180817_17.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="783" data-original-width="652" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9DvuCh2iTh-iwYnmgOuTGB0t52UJ2h4ulQrWM-SHFx5N9lQDd_a1rMbJJXsojl91j0-RemtihgJ-geDrS1lBEHZEjuAqfi5vNlzrR8P5s9jdGm5-_Mv4zTaeWSOFvVzCHLgN8Gkz4mvo-/s640/Snip20180817_17.png" width="532" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Image credit <a href="https://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/detail.php?ID=251138">The Athenaeum</a>, <i>La Duchesse Abrantes et le General Junot</i>, Marguerite Gerard, no other information available.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The kitty close-up reveals (poorly) a cat crouched down at the front left corner:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg39bt8HQpVBjg87HkhGDgWbv_y7HbOIuiXTQlukh-c7p4XkqTxDoSput9X_1kAnqfrnRy10dLYLL5tRY1RtqMAELC1XOKRHPIu4j72CLMsN707Myjlm-cj3j9lO5VtGvUW3igyTtKGIHJB/s1600/Snip20180817_18.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="100" data-original-width="349" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg39bt8HQpVBjg87HkhGDgWbv_y7HbOIuiXTQlukh-c7p4XkqTxDoSput9X_1kAnqfrnRy10dLYLL5tRY1RtqMAELC1XOKRHPIu4j72CLMsN707Myjlm-cj3j9lO5VtGvUW3igyTtKGIHJB/s400/Snip20180817_18.png" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">After the almost in-your-face cats in my recent posts on Gerard, this nondescript gray cat, whose form is scarcely recognizable as a feline, huddles unobtrusively in an otherwise bright, cheery painting.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Why Gerard painted this gray kitty this way, adding it to this social image, will remain forever a mystery. I'm thinking the most simple explanation: this cat belonged to the Duchesse, who requested it be painted for posterity. Thus an unidentified little gray cat from a couple of centuries ago achieves immortality of sorts.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">[Gary note: With my </span><i style="background-color: white;">Cats in Arts</i><span style="background-color: white;"> posts, I encourage you to scope out the art appreciation site </span><a href="https://www.artsy.net/" style="background-color: white; color: #7c93a1; text-decoration: none;">Artsy</a><span style="background-color: white;"> (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!]</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />Gary...a relative of Mister Tristanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458735546068405044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775279775600371229.post-2636374643337684532018-09-30T19:38:00.000-04:002018-09-30T19:38:52.890-04:00Cats in Art: Cat's Triumph (Gerard)<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 27px;">From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. Having moved on </span><span style="background-color: white;">from Stefano Zuffi's marvelous work, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">The Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">, </span><span style="line-height: 27px;">I am now using some ideas from </span><span style="background-color: white;">Caroline Bugler's equally impressive book, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">The Cat/3500 Years of the Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">. You really should check out and/or own both of these wonderful works, easily available on Amazon or eBay (and I have no financial </span><span style="background-color: white;">interest).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is the fourth of several posts on </span>the<span style="font-family: inherit;"> cat art of Marguerite Gerard.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhouxsre-F8vSyNBxQ3kQxQTXP5wqUFXgjNBTq0ql4rAOkRGPXvzIN9w5v9kT682Lnx52D-zEARmwZm23fN8zJKePr4Sf_D55cPxUT68lYVNXPS0YReuOsd2xaiLHyiSAksUfnCpTNnAIRd/s1600/Snip20180817_9.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="815" data-original-width="664" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhouxsre-F8vSyNBxQ3kQxQTXP5wqUFXgjNBTq0ql4rAOkRGPXvzIN9w5v9kT682Lnx52D-zEARmwZm23fN8zJKePr4Sf_D55cPxUT68lYVNXPS0YReuOsd2xaiLHyiSAksUfnCpTNnAIRd/s640/Snip20180817_9.png" width="520" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Image credit <a href="https://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/detail.php?ID=288608">The Athenaeum</a>, <i>Cat's Triumph</i>, Marguerite Gerard, 1785, held by t<span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 65, 102); color: #334166;">he Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Russian Federation - Moscow, </span>no other information available.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />And the kitty close-up:</span><table style="color: #334166; width: 95%;"><tbody>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlSDP5_-0PpMXdzx8gkOiGTvRmuBvyqLykOk5bIq396xhnyk-OCLVGlBDXUXUezFWnI1Hh9BeGpB42NeFHedrFfHNcgtwgJiESz_38LngyZZ1rEChSDz1S1AQ8k3ttQ2h-HBJqM0AuP-CN/s1600/Snip20180817_10.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="255" data-original-width="267" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlSDP5_-0PpMXdzx8gkOiGTvRmuBvyqLykOk5bIq396xhnyk-OCLVGlBDXUXUezFWnI1Hh9BeGpB42NeFHedrFfHNcgtwgJiESz_38LngyZZ1rEChSDz1S1AQ8k3ttQ2h-HBJqM0AuP-CN/s400/Snip20180817_10.png" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I guess the work's title--<i>Cat's Triumph</i>--derives from the fact that the primary human is holding the cat, not the dog.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Paintbrush drop, walk off out of the studio.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">[Gary note: With my </span><i style="background-color: white;">Cats in Arts</i><span style="background-color: white;"> posts, I encourage you to scope out the art appreciation site </span><a href="https://www.artsy.net/" style="background-color: white; color: #7c93a1; text-decoration: none;">Artsy</a><span style="background-color: white;"> (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!]</span></span></div>
Gary...a relative of Mister Tristanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458735546068405044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775279775600371229.post-22620716181647237442018-09-23T16:26:00.001-04:002018-09-23T16:26:05.668-04:00Cats in Art: The Beloved Child (Gerard)<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 27px;">Sorry for no post last week. Life, etc.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 27px;">From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. Having moved on </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">from Stefano Zuffi's marvelous work, </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">The Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">, </span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 27px;">I am now using some ideas from </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Caroline Bugler's equally impressive book, </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">The Cat/3500 Years of the Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">. You really should check out and/or own both of these wonderful works, easily available on Amazon or eBay (and I have no financial </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">interest).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is the third of several posts on </span>the<span style="font-family: inherit;"> cat art of Marguerite Gerard.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-6u9Cm7NDcgEziR1FX72nxoYf2acEVAelDqno80XbKYWNs8NBlzRqIaEMUji3LYjSWFxEjbI5AYE91nzdY1nrzt03p04DKX9bldioVM1cs4c4yd3TGryGJFdwk96JnbkEFe7VSK_1ft1O/s1600/Snip20180817_3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="841" data-original-width="1029" height="522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-6u9Cm7NDcgEziR1FX72nxoYf2acEVAelDqno80XbKYWNs8NBlzRqIaEMUji3LYjSWFxEjbI5AYE91nzdY1nrzt03p04DKX9bldioVM1cs4c4yd3TGryGJFdwk96JnbkEFe7VSK_1ft1O/s640/Snip20180817_3.png" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Image credit <a href="https://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/detail.php?ID=268381">The Athenaeum</a>, <i>The Beloved Child</i>, Marguerite Gerard, oil on canvas, 17" x 22", held by Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. </span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: #334166; font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 65, 102);">And the kitty close-up:</span></span><div>
<span style="color: #334166; font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 65, 102);"><br /></span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiBKJMcxbAr_sVCL3-XTHWI7Q8iEbKaq9Wt3K3N4h2HH39v0vqXBI37x76KQ3eaJmjZMrMdq9E1x54ex772zGLWrYVVkPdyYk4OAhzLUZvC8_hjqgvJ773OGCwNlKScPU2ht94RL796u2u/s1600/Snip20180817_4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="272" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiBKJMcxbAr_sVCL3-XTHWI7Q8iEbKaq9Wt3K3N4h2HH39v0vqXBI37x76KQ3eaJmjZMrMdq9E1x54ex772zGLWrYVVkPdyYk4OAhzLUZvC8_hjqgvJ773OGCwNlKScPU2ht94RL796u2u/s400/Snip20180817_4.png" width="398" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Yeah that's just what a cat would like: riding in a sled, getting pulled/pushed by a couple of </span>women,<span style="font-family: inherit;"> while being held by a toddler, with a big dog a mere </span>couple<span style="font-family: inherit;"> of feet away. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">What could possibly go wrong?</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Ms. Gerard must have rolled in different cat circles than I do.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">[Gary note: With my </span><i style="background-color: white;">Cats in Arts</i><span style="background-color: white;"> posts, I encourage you to scope out the art appreciation site </span><a href="https://www.artsy.net/" style="background-color: white; color: #7c93a1; text-decoration: none;">Artsy</a><span style="background-color: white;"> (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!]</span></span></div>
</div>
Gary...a relative of Mister Tristanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458735546068405044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775279775600371229.post-58597436358417407322018-09-09T05:00:00.000-04:002018-09-09T05:00:04.728-04:00Cats in Art: Motherhood (Gerard)<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 27px;">From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. Having moved on </span><span style="background-color: white;">from Stefano Zuffi's marvelous work, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">The Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">, </span><span style="line-height: 27px;">I am now using some ideas from </span><span style="background-color: white;">Caroline Bugler's equally impressive book, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">The Cat/3500 Years of the Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">. You really should check out and/or own both of these wonderful works, easily available on Amazon or eBay (and I have no financial </span><span style="background-color: white;">interest).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is the second of several posts on </span>the<span style="font-family: inherit;"> cat art of Marguerite Gerard.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkXCf6tsAcn5ipT8Gl5SIxWfIyfQ3JCMYkPFoHAiSaqqNRs9mN7O6GOg12_T8IhoyBzXRI8C8iL9hIegmQYkdGTf90E0qohCegfm28KTL9-SOW8wXzVmLZA9emgKycLjIirB8kqe5ACz-_/s1600/Snip20180817_15.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="821" data-original-width="647" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkXCf6tsAcn5ipT8Gl5SIxWfIyfQ3JCMYkPFoHAiSaqqNRs9mN7O6GOg12_T8IhoyBzXRI8C8iL9hIegmQYkdGTf90E0qohCegfm28KTL9-SOW8wXzVmLZA9emgKycLjIirB8kqe5ACz-_/s640/Snip20180817_15.png" width="504" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
Image credit <a href="https://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/detail.php?ID=288610">The Athenaeum</a>, <i>Motherhood</i>, Marguerite Gerard, 1805, medium and size unspecified, held by <span style="color: #334166; font-family: "oxygen" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "bitstream vera sans" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (Russian Federation - Moscow).</span><br />
<span style="color: #334166; font-family: "oxygen" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "bitstream vera sans" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #334166; font-family: "oxygen" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "bitstream vera sans" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">And the kitty close-up:</span><br />
<table style="caret-color: rgb(51, 65, 102); color: #334166; font-family: Oxygen, "Lucida Grande", "Trebuchet MS", "Bitstream Vera Sans", Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; width: 95%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="vertical-align: top;" width="150"><br /></td><td style="vertical-align: top;"><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNTP5fQi0w83rjQrKtPpxgp1L3KbN4nRbG8-OhZbzSkkFekgfklLy_hUU7TX4CrWW3NTShxsQt3D9-Gmq9yFh6fk7s4j9Gk7lp1CwIMR_EOTmHkci8V5gcX4MKXgHUkD1UrEVtHIHEVGpL/s1600/Snip20180817_16.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="201" data-original-width="107" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNTP5fQi0w83rjQrKtPpxgp1L3KbN4nRbG8-OhZbzSkkFekgfklLy_hUU7TX4CrWW3NTShxsQt3D9-Gmq9yFh6fk7s4j9Gk7lp1CwIMR_EOTmHkci8V5gcX4MKXgHUkD1UrEVtHIHEVGpL/s400/Snip20180817_16.png" width="212" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
To me it appears that there are a pair of kitties here: the obvious white one, plus a dark cat closer to the painter. The white cat seems at first fascinated with the mom and the toddler, although upon looking more, the eyes seem more directed towards the other cat or the artist rather than the mother/child combo. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So....we have a cat (or a pair of kitties) not all that interested in <i>Motherhood</i>. Figures.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
FYI, there's <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Motherhood,_by_Marguerite_G%C3%A9rard.jpg">another Gerard painting called Motherhood</a>, sans chat. And <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/337699672039085851/">one also called Motherhood</a>, avec chat, that I only can seem to located on Pinterest.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">[Gary note: With my </span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: start;">Cats in Arts</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"> posts, I encourage you to scope out the art appreciation site </span><a href="https://www.artsy.net/" style="background-color: white; color: #7c93a1; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none;">Artsy</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"> (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!]</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<br />Gary...a relative of Mister Tristanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458735546068405044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775279775600371229.post-72127506582490121502018-09-02T05:00:00.000-04:002018-09-02T05:00:02.735-04:00Cats in Art: Lady With a Cat (Gerard)<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 27px;">From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. Having moved on </span><span style="background-color: white;">from Stefano Zuffi's marvelous work, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">The Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">, </span><span style="line-height: 27px;">I am now using some ideas from </span><span style="background-color: white;">Caroline Bugler's equally impressive book, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">The Cat/3500 Years of the Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">. You really should check out and/or own both of these wonderful works, easily available on Amazon or eBay (and I have no financial </span><span style="background-color: white;">interest).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;">Last week's post concluded my study of Jean-Honore Fragonard, and with this post we're transitioning to the art of one of his students and sister-in-law. This will be the first of several posts on the cat art of Marguerite Gerard.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;">I previously did a Gerard series back in the spring of 2017, but these are additional images that complement those previously featured.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWOO0teO5MKMf8VpDz8ZAWc8CeIAlD1He4GwfxHT0UIGr66IjcjxmrJmP-u_KPS__EgvoohPv6yiJtHO4aIr1j69lo9z5TPPlDwCZkkqTtgPK_T3Q6lb75VNN5l_VcfT6dBPeEiGAEfR8z/s1600/Snip20180817_13.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="827" data-original-width="629" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWOO0teO5MKMf8VpDz8ZAWc8CeIAlD1He4GwfxHT0UIGr66IjcjxmrJmP-u_KPS__EgvoohPv6yiJtHO4aIr1j69lo9z5TPPlDwCZkkqTtgPK_T3Q6lb75VNN5l_VcfT6dBPeEiGAEfR8z/s640/Snip20180817_13.png" width="486" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
Image credit <a href="https://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/detail.php?ID=210382">The Athenaeum</a>, <i>Lady With a Cat</i>, Marguerite Gerard. Circa 1804, oil on canvas, 13" x 10", holder unspecified.<br />
<br />
<br />
And the kitty close-up:<br />
<table style="caret-color: rgb(51, 65, 102); color: #334166; font-family: Oxygen, "Lucida Grande", "Trebuchet MS", "Bitstream Vera Sans", Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; width: 95%px;"><tbody>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP2fKj-JBDCY67j3bCPVuACQejEl_i3KUSP1fvWqx6wB2bnKhr9x_7qN9nhGpNDG7_cjRFWETV80nMVdMIdFHj2hNbW7W7o9LQkUJ4LrhnkiXXKfKK-_9l_OEt7tcY-U1RtkBLHekTdm7B/s1600/Snip20180817_14.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="560" data-original-width="338" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP2fKj-JBDCY67j3bCPVuACQejEl_i3KUSP1fvWqx6wB2bnKhr9x_7qN9nhGpNDG7_cjRFWETV80nMVdMIdFHj2hNbW7W7o9LQkUJ4LrhnkiXXKfKK-_9l_OEt7tcY-U1RtkBLHekTdm7B/s400/Snip20180817_14.png" width="241" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The large white cat with the orange marking looks, shall we say, a tad annoyed. Not annoyed enough to bite or scratch--yet--but sufficiently peeved to glare at the artist as though to say: "What are <u>you</u> looking at?"</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The woman seems composed and almost aloof, as though the cat's mood is nothing particularly noteworthy or alarming ("Oh, the cat's acting pissy again").</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
And the fact remains that the cat is right there on what looks to be the arm of a chair. He/she could be anywhere but close to sit <i>there, </i>so the glare is really just a ploy. The cat is actually devoted to human contact.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
At least that's been my experience over some decades of cat interaction.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: center;">[Gary note: With my </span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: center;">Cats in Arts</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: center;"> posts, I encourage you to scope out the art appreciation site </span><a href="https://www.artsy.net/" style="background-color: white; color: #7c93a1; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;">Artsy</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: center;"> (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!]</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div>
Gary...a relative of Mister Tristanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458735546068405044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775279775600371229.post-69267992479235667712018-08-26T05:00:00.000-04:002018-08-26T05:00:05.206-04:00Cats in Art: The Swaddled Cat (Gerard and Fragonard)<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 27px;">From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. Having moved on </span><span style="background-color: white;">from Stefano Zuffi's marvelous work, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">The Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">, </span><span style="line-height: 27px;">I am now using some ideas from </span><span style="background-color: white;">Caroline Bugler's equally impressive book, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">The Cat/3500 Years of the Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">. You really should check out and/or own both of these wonderful works, easily available on Amazon or eBay (and I have no financial </span><span style="background-color: white;">interest).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As you will see below, after some 5 weeks of Jean-Honore Fragonard art, this post is a bridge collaboration between </span>Fragonard and his young sister-in-law, Marguerite Gerard.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Then I'll focus upon Marguerite Gerard in her own right over the ensuing several weeks.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxh-c127FqctLW37lIHzd5d937B8dDuLkL21_6i7NHDrMYocu3ivkqg3IANf6k-1eD-2zbTxP39e7zY5s7ih6yWxE9Y1e79IwQdszLeZPKhJZSkJuLc6mNHph3gUIvwUKWIeK0fMCylY_m/s1600/Snip20180817_1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="731" data-original-width="540" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxh-c127FqctLW37lIHzd5d937B8dDuLkL21_6i7NHDrMYocu3ivkqg3IANf6k-1eD-2zbTxP39e7zY5s7ih6yWxE9Y1e79IwQdszLeZPKhJZSkJuLc6mNHph3gUIvwUKWIeK0fMCylY_m/s640/Snip20180817_1.png" width="472" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Image credit <a href="http://www.museesdegrasse.com/en/evenement/marguerite-gerard-le-chat-emmaillote">Museum de Grasse</a>, </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Marguerite Gerard, </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">The Swaddled Cat</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">, 1778, brown wash and black chalk, 17" x 14", held by Museum de Grasse, Grasse, Provence, France.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And the super cute kitty close-up:</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvhhDLMeoftkI9twlyX_APTPmmqSa66DchRDj8gopYJgs9BCucIjWe6jgx6WuObThoYqQ_sMrWV91CXgXFNZUCk0-v82zbidpViiKI14mV44S9KXpjWxIJkF9aqTwzpjlfCcztb7SdmCHH/s1600/Snip20180817_2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="226" data-original-width="201" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvhhDLMeoftkI9twlyX_APTPmmqSa66DchRDj8gopYJgs9BCucIjWe6jgx6WuObThoYqQ_sMrWV91CXgXFNZUCk0-v82zbidpViiKI14mV44S9KXpjWxIJkF9aqTwzpjlfCcztb7SdmCHH/s400/Snip20180817_2.png" width="355" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Bugler tells us:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #d9ead3; font-family: inherit;">A little girl plays dolly with a young cat who seems to be joining in with relish; with eyes half-closed he does not look in the least unhappy to be bound up and laid on his back.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #d9ead3; font-family: inherit;">One can easily understand why, in 1778, for her first foray into engraving, the sixteen year old Marguerite Gerard--with assistance from Fragonard himself, her brother-in-law and teacher--chose to reproduce this composition that she surely must have found amusing. Gerard too must have been a cat lover, as some fine specimens are to be found in her own paintings.</span></blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And from the <a href="http://www.museesdegrasse.com/en/evenement/marguerite-gerard-le-chat-emmaillote">Museum de Grasse web site</a>:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #d9ead3; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Around 1775, Marguerite Gérard, who was barely able to ready and write, moved into the house of her sister, Marie-Anne Gérard, who had been married to Jean-Honoré Fragonard for six years. She became Fragonard's pupil and learned to paint, draw and engrave. Fragonard undoubtedly corrected the drawings of his young pupil and introduced her to etching, which enabled her to proudly sign this first print in 1778: The Swaddled Cat. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">In 1780, she began to collaborate with the master, as shown by the engravings which include the statement "painted by Fragonard and Miss Gérard", and the signing of several prints.</span></span></blockquote>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1.2em;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My thoughts? Gerard--as a 16 year old--absolutely nailed the placid kitty's face. Also, as an aside, when I googled <i>The Swaddled Cat Gerard</i>, I found the museum hit....but then pages of sites that tell you how to wrap up a scared kitty to keep it calm.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">[Gary note: With my </span><i style="background-color: white;">Cats in Arts</i><span style="background-color: white;"> posts, I encourage you to scope out the art appreciation site </span><a href="https://www.artsy.net/" style="background-color: white; color: #7c93a1; text-decoration: none;">Artsy</a><span style="background-color: white;"> (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!]</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<br />Gary...a relative of Mister Tristanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458735546068405044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775279775600371229.post-12828474700679583632018-08-19T05:00:00.000-04:002018-08-19T05:00:05.593-04:00Cats in Art: The First Steps (Fragonard)<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 27px;">From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. Having moved on </span><span style="background-color: white;">from Stefano Zuffi's marvelous work, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">The Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">, </span><span style="line-height: 27px;">I am now using some ideas from </span><span style="background-color: white;">Caroline Bugler's equally impressive book, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">The Cat/3500 Years of the Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">. You really should check out and/or own both of these wonderful works, easily available on Amazon or eBay (and I have no financial </span><span style="background-color: white;">interest).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">This will be the last of 5 posts on the cat art of Jean-Honore Fragonard.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZkjBfzwqaP10ut8h5cMJ370f6j9XsLnI_LEx-2POsXXSOoAaT3QwQAz5UEuC-oD3CrwsfDcO_A-wLdV2qPrjkwsCsn_AbeON_lHpCgMOpFzSrMHDUvSt79w2KvJ-tVELGaSWGn8KpeeQY/s1600/Snip20180721_8.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="833" data-original-width="1036" height="514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZkjBfzwqaP10ut8h5cMJ370f6j9XsLnI_LEx-2POsXXSOoAaT3QwQAz5UEuC-oD3CrwsfDcO_A-wLdV2qPrjkwsCsn_AbeON_lHpCgMOpFzSrMHDUvSt79w2KvJ-tVELGaSWGn8KpeeQY/s640/Snip20180721_8.png" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Image credit <a href="https://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/detail.php?ID=268379">The Athenaeum,</a> <i>The First Steps</i>, Jean-Honore Fragonard, ca 1780, 18" x 22", oil on canvas, held by <span style="color: #334166; font-family: "oxygen" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "bitstream vera sans" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, Greater Boston, Massachusetts, USA.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And the kitty close-up:</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixvGsJfMJ4ayqjvyOMxDmajQkfCDp_sZ4mssrKXr2hbxGyyK120yQ7w5Lsy3FFtmUD3Ll4hZyaIuoeoRqdC4o0jZ6h-SYwP9oHc8Jr6EEdHna9NQs7oKX5jo4EhSSl_D4-YJeO0Q-7JoVI/s1600/Snip20180721_9.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="138" data-original-width="187" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixvGsJfMJ4ayqjvyOMxDmajQkfCDp_sZ4mssrKXr2hbxGyyK120yQ7w5Lsy3FFtmUD3Ll4hZyaIuoeoRqdC4o0jZ6h-SYwP9oHc8Jr6EEdHna9NQs7oKX5jo4EhSSl_D4-YJeO0Q-7JoVI/s400/Snip20180721_9.png" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Not much of a view of the kitty's rear end, though we can tell that this feline is a calico cat. And that's about it. But it's really cool that Fragonard, a cat lover from centuries ago, apparently loved cats, and children/grandchildren.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So much so that in this 4-generation painting he included a kitty in this depiction of a major life milestone that happens in practically every household on the planet where there are children.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And so this anonymous calico has achieved immortality.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And at last, late in his life, it appears that Fragonard finally learned how to paint a cat (see previous 4 posts!).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">[Gary note: With my </span><i style="background-color: white;">Cats in Arts</i><span style="background-color: white;"> posts, I encourage you to scope out the art appreciation site </span><a href="https://www.artsy.net/" style="background-color: white; color: #7c93a1; text-decoration: none;">Artsy</a><span style="background-color: white;"> (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!]</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
Gary...a relative of Mister Tristanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458735546068405044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775279775600371229.post-32609819964324887662018-08-12T05:00:00.000-04:002018-08-12T05:00:00.445-04:00Cats in Art: The Angora Cat (Fragonard)<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 27px;">From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. Having moved on </span><span style="background-color: white;">from Stefano Zuffi's marvelous work, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">The Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">, </span><span style="line-height: 27px;">I am now using some ideas from </span><span style="background-color: white;">Caroline Bugler's equally impressive book, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">The Cat/3500 Years of the Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">. You really should check out and/or own both of these wonderful works, easily available on Amazon or eBay (and I have no financial </span><span style="background-color: white;">interest).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;">This will be the fourth of 5 posts on the cat art of Jean-Honore Fragonard.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibXugFfXs4KpwCYa1ph-b4dJ0NOP0i6179JSpXo5_s5Ly5OxS6eruGdR7Da2Z0bakrWEc97_IGD0KFokBtnc3u0Wxv9JOmexgv4yRLjTRDmHuz90hBBMCIUagArUQouZIzWfP_NcexoY7h/s1600/Snip20180721_6.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="834" data-original-width="686" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibXugFfXs4KpwCYa1ph-b4dJ0NOP0i6179JSpXo5_s5Ly5OxS6eruGdR7Da2Z0bakrWEc97_IGD0KFokBtnc3u0Wxv9JOmexgv4yRLjTRDmHuz90hBBMCIUagArUQouZIzWfP_NcexoY7h/s640/Snip20180721_6.png" width="526" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Image credit <a href="https://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/detail.php?ID=101703">The Athenaeum</a>, The Angora Cat, Jean-Honore Fragonard, ca 1783, oil on canvas, 25" x 21", held by <span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 65, 102); color: #334166; font-family: oxygen, "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", "bitstream vera sans", verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Wallraf-Richartz-Museum Fondation Corboud (Germany - Cologne).</span></span><br />
<div>
<span style="color: #334166; font-family: oxygen, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, bitstream vera sans, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 65, 102); font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<div>
<span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 65, 102); color: #334166; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 65, 102); color: #334166; font-family: oxygen, "lucida grande", "trebuchet ms", "bitstream vera sans", verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">And the </span><span style="color: #334166; font-family: oxygen, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, bitstream vera sans, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 65, 102);">kitty close-up:</span></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQXvfvYHbxdJhxPaGWbeUHq6qdX2bEapMArI9Ukrlq4B0Q6cORubRyI7N9IS68w6CrZaYHconAnsiDK8fQusFSyWYJrzCYWkAGCugRMS_C4O9bUq0kqYcdLLu0D0kUTy3QhOUkPeoCyxnR/s1600/Snip20180721_7.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="243" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQXvfvYHbxdJhxPaGWbeUHq6qdX2bEapMArI9Ukrlq4B0Q6cORubRyI7N9IS68w6CrZaYHconAnsiDK8fQusFSyWYJrzCYWkAGCugRMS_C4O9bUq0kqYcdLLu0D0kUTy3QhOUkPeoCyxnR/s400/Snip20180721_7.png" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And the even closer close-up:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimRSHYfyviuZkaFTjOzRQpF-6RjjIw949xpZccwZGVZjjG2n_aEbVeqFZLIyerIbAeDNviL11aq9V_5rnJjMAeM2BAi5LFSXSZVurT4_4ZLg1qKs8sGwJu3XJ6oov0bE4gYxcMRtb7qGYO/s1600/Snip20180731_1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="138" data-original-width="104" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimRSHYfyviuZkaFTjOzRQpF-6RjjIw949xpZccwZGVZjjG2n_aEbVeqFZLIyerIbAeDNviL11aq9V_5rnJjMAeM2BAi5LFSXSZVurT4_4ZLg1qKs8sGwJu3XJ6oov0bE4gYxcMRtb7qGYO/s400/Snip20180731_1.png" width="301" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 65, 102); color: #334166; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">First off, this may well be </span>another<span style="font-family: inherit;"> version of Fragonard's peculiar white kitty from the past several weeks, though the telltale cat face is </span>turned away. And try<span style="font-family: inherit;"> as I might, upon </span>initial<span style="font-family: inherit;"> inspection I cannot tell whether the cat is playing with a dead animal, a toy, or a mirror. Equally puzzling, that light rectangular patch looks much like a radio, very non-1780s.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ah, the limitations of the 2-dimensional printed page. If only someone could describe the painting from real life....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Fortunately, we have such a description, from <a href="https://www.wallraf.museum/en/collections/baroque/masterpieces/jean-honore-fragonard-and-marguerite-gerard-angora-cat-c-1783-85/the-highlight/">Wallraf Museum web site</a>:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #d9ead3; font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(16, 16, 16); color: #101010; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">On the eve of the French Revolution, the fashionable world was getting used to the idea that courtly ceremonial would be giving way to a more modest, bourgeois lifestyle. In art, this found its expression in a new predilection for genre scenes, simple costumes and hair worn loose. It was no longer the classicism of Rome, but undramatic art in the style of the Netherlands that was in demand. This painting reflects the new spirit. It shows a young, fashionably dressed woman in Dutch-looking surroundings. The carpet on the table, the painting in the background and the elderly servant are typical of works that we would normally assign to the seventeenth century. But the grace of the leading lady quickly puts the picture in its place: at the heart of the Rococo era.</span> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #d9ead3; font-family: inherit;"><br style="color: #101010; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(16, 16, 16); color: #101010; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">In the centre of the painting is a curious scene: evidently a black cloth has just been taken off the silver globe. An Angora cat has discovered her reflection and may have decided it is a rival. The globe also reflects what is going on behind us, so to speak: a woman is sitting at an easel in a small room with two other people.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #101010;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #101010; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sometimes closer is not better. Go back to the original painting at the top. There in between the cat and the woman is the large reflective ball, about twice the size of the cat. It touches both of them, the cat on the left and the woman on the right. You can now easily perceive the reflected cat and the reflected woman. The black cloth is lying on the table. So far so good. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #101010; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #101010; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But what my old eyes still </span>can't<span style="font-family: inherit;"> quite make out in the reflection is the woman at an easel, and the pair of other people. And t</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">he center of the ball still seems to reflect a </span></span></span><span style="color: #101010; font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(16, 16, 16);">window or something that is off-painting. But keeping mind that I'm looking at a reproduction that's only a couple of inches in size while the original painting is about 2 feet square. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #101010; font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(16, 16, 16);"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #101010; font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(16, 16, 16);">See, I'm not there in the actual room of the actual museum with the actual painting....so I guess this could be yet another excuse for an art road trip? I could call it the <i>Cats in Art Tour</i> and sell exclusive spaces. I'm pretty sure I'll become very wealthy. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #101010; font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(16, 16, 16);"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #101010; font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(16, 16, 16);">Anyone interested (this is a serious question)?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #101010; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(16, 16, 16);"><br /></span></span>
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">[Gary note: With my </span><i style="background-color: white;">Cats in Arts</i><span style="background-color: white;"> posts, I encourage you to scope out the art appreciation site </span><a href="https://www.artsy.net/" style="background-color: white; color: #7c93a1; text-decoration: none;">Artsy</a><span style="background-color: white;"> (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!]</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #101010; font-family: inherit;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;" /></span>
<span style="color: #101010; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #101010; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
Gary...a relative of Mister Tristanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458735546068405044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775279775600371229.post-32765348967465464792018-08-05T05:00:00.000-04:002018-08-05T05:00:05.574-04:00Cats in Art: Girl Holding a Dog and Cat (Fragonard)<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 27px;">From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. Having moved on </span><span style="background-color: white;">from Stefano Zuffi's marvelous work, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">The Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">, </span><span style="line-height: 27px;">I am now using some ideas from </span><span style="background-color: white;">Caroline Bugler's equally impressive book, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">The Cat/3500 Years of the Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">. You really should check out and/or own both of these wonderful works, easily available on Amazon or eBay (and I have no financial </span><span style="background-color: white;">interest).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;">This will be the third of 5 posts on the cat art of Jean-Honore Fragonard.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1F1QJzbO9o5lXj0-8sny71NnTpDyu01glm-MrafcTlo1R8fEU-YECz2NIva8sPz_-yyoSNT7tA3_p7KCqHpqCYygFbit2fZopvthfR_NyQ9ruVKdIoQn5uQmy37UN3XoiBEkwRdA_0Bar/s1600/Snip20180721_11.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="799" data-original-width="847" height="602" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1F1QJzbO9o5lXj0-8sny71NnTpDyu01glm-MrafcTlo1R8fEU-YECz2NIva8sPz_-yyoSNT7tA3_p7KCqHpqCYygFbit2fZopvthfR_NyQ9ruVKdIoQn5uQmy37UN3XoiBEkwRdA_0Bar/s640/Snip20180721_11.png" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitjSUnoSaKtaawGzcbXZcGKqVxoGTHGIAl22a2CB1nSjYS_ptVGPxhA_ZeVxD-qacKZRfksgFqBoErCoQR4i1x5vf3irc-KOEmsv03Hu3dYj_Ln8289-rCHJ9L-gyB5NOIh4OHlXcaeth4/s1600/Snip20180721_12.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="295" data-original-width="404" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitjSUnoSaKtaawGzcbXZcGKqVxoGTHGIAl22a2CB1nSjYS_ptVGPxhA_ZeVxD-qacKZRfksgFqBoErCoQR4i1x5vf3irc-KOEmsv03Hu3dYj_Ln8289-rCHJ9L-gyB5NOIh4OHlXcaeth4/s400/Snip20180721_12.png" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Image credit <a href="https://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/detail.php?ID=124795">The Athenaeum,</a> <i>Girl Holding a Dog and Cat, </i>Jean-Honore Fragonard, ca 1775, 27" x 27", oil on canvas, holder unspecified.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #334166; font-family: inherit;">For the third post in a row we see the toy-like kitty with the round face and soft-looking ears. And despite being held with a dog, literally, the cat seems fairly OK with things. The batting paw seems equally for balance as for combat with the canine.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #334166; font-family: oxygen, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, bitstream vera sans, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #334166; font-family: oxygen, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, bitstream vera sans, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;">The girl appears to be scientifically engrossed, as though she is conducting an animal behavior <span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 65, 102);">experiment. Not surprisingly, the kitty seems to have the upper <strike>hand</strike> paw. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #334166; font-family: oxygen, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, bitstream vera sans, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 65, 102); font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #334166; font-family: oxygen, lucida grande, trebuchet ms, bitstream vera sans, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 65, 102); font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;">[Gary note: With my </span><i style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;">Cats in Arts</i><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;"> posts, I encourage you to scope out the art appreciation site </span><a href="https://www.artsy.net/" style="background-color: white; color: #7c93a1; text-decoration: none;">Artsy</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black;"> (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!]</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #334166; font-family: "oxygen" , "lucida grande" , "trebuchet ms" , "bitstream vera sans" , "verdana" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 65, 102);"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></span></span>Gary...a relative of Mister Tristanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458735546068405044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775279775600371229.post-53922788476255554852018-07-29T07:27:00.000-04:002018-07-29T07:27:54.166-04:00Cats in Art: The Education of the Virgin (Fragonard)<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 27px;">From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. Having moved on </span><span style="background-color: white;">from Stefano Zuffi's marvelous work, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">The Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">, </span><span style="line-height: 27px;">I am now using some ideas from </span><span style="background-color: white;">Caroline Bugler's equally impressive book, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">The Cat/3500 Years of the Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">. You really should check out and/or own both of these wonderful works, easily available on Amazon or eBay (and I have no financial </span><span style="background-color: white;">interest).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;">This will be the second of 5 posts on the cat art of Jean Honore Fragonard.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBcXvUDKsoTZ_-t7vld7mvntDrT1PPEyuIqToo7J41QEQWyLKWY1lZX4mPkZ2qsCikI3xJMhytN1z_IjCM_s_DRd-qauPB9sHzsOegozgnvhEcwEtK-IqggiUCvUrun9QwVUfASXQxnoGZ/s1600/Snip20180721_4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="814" data-original-width="1128" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBcXvUDKsoTZ_-t7vld7mvntDrT1PPEyuIqToo7J41QEQWyLKWY1lZX4mPkZ2qsCikI3xJMhytN1z_IjCM_s_DRd-qauPB9sHzsOegozgnvhEcwEtK-IqggiUCvUrun9QwVUfASXQxnoGZ/s640/Snip20180721_4.png" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Image credit <a href="https://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/detail.php?ID=134283">The Athenaeum</a>, <i>The Education of the Virgin</i>, Jean-Honore Fragonard, 1773, 33" x 45", oil on canvas, held by Fine Arts Museum-Legion of Honor, San Francisco, CA, USA.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And the close-up of that fine kitty over there on the right:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_6S97RKS6D6Mf_0lChDeZV0YBaqzQcbxNAxuvq5rgnxSa9Fj2ntC9i8-VBiIbVxZSxOeGZnbUX3QxPvPuZzUGi57ety3OkoXLXcKi_rNg4mHwnJjA57Z5a0PIOKPczub6V_DWXl5ivrbX/s1600/Snip20180721_5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="155" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_6S97RKS6D6Mf_0lChDeZV0YBaqzQcbxNAxuvq5rgnxSa9Fj2ntC9i8-VBiIbVxZSxOeGZnbUX3QxPvPuZzUGi57ety3OkoXLXcKi_rNg4mHwnJjA57Z5a0PIOKPczub6V_DWXl5ivrbX/s400/Snip20180721_5.png" width="338" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I've been to this museum, but frankly, I don't recall anything about it. It was awhile ago, long before <i>Cats in Art</i>. But I surely regret not being able to describe this piece from my own personal recollection.</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">First, what bothers me about this painting. The Virgin herself (I presume it's Mary) looks kinda doll-like and puny in comparison to her oversized teacher. The proportions seem a bit off. Then there's the cat....</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">To Fragonard's everlasting credit, he felt compelled to include a cat in the theme of "<i>The Education of the Virgin</i>." Good on him, knowledge of felines is surely next to godliness. But his kitty rendering, like last week's, makes the poor cat look doll-like (akin to Mary?) and unrealistic. Perhaps it's the same kitty model?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">One final point, at least the cat is showing an interest in the painter. Although Fragonard's image to me seems off, he does capture well the spirit of curiosity that is the essence of catness.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">[Gary note: With my </span><i style="background-color: white;">Cats in Arts</i><span style="background-color: white;"> posts, I encourage you to scope out the art appreciation site </span><a href="https://www.artsy.net/" style="background-color: white; color: #7c93a1; text-decoration: none;">Artsy</a><span style="background-color: white;"> (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!]</span></span><br />
<table style="color: #334166; width: 95%;"><tbody>
</tbody></table>
</div>
Gary...a relative of Mister Tristanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458735546068405044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775279775600371229.post-79276495913844992392018-07-22T05:00:00.000-04:002018-07-22T05:00:05.616-04:00Cats in Art: The Music Lesson (Fragonard)<span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 27px;">From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. Having moved on </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">from Stefano Zuffi's marvelous work, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">The Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 27px;">I am now using some ideas from </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Caroline Bugler's equally impressive book, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">The Cat/3500 Years of the Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">. You really should check out and/or own both of these wonderful works, easily available on Amazon or eBay (and I have no financial </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">interest).</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">This will be the first of 5 posts on the cat art of Jean Honore Fragonard.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT86uUDVHOxXR3txePm5U71GkX7wS1hzk2ON4_r6RtSzShCc78Vj3iDxqeNfsugXCDZ2DkqoQSBr5J17Mbwv6GcovzKYZS5EsKtIl-JZJGhxDg919fjkTvr4dcBjop3tNMljYc3_4inKYO/s1600/Snip20180721_3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="655" data-original-width="762" height="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT86uUDVHOxXR3txePm5U71GkX7wS1hzk2ON4_r6RtSzShCc78Vj3iDxqeNfsugXCDZ2DkqoQSBr5J17Mbwv6GcovzKYZS5EsKtIl-JZJGhxDg919fjkTvr4dcBjop3tNMljYc3_4inKYO/s640/Snip20180721_3.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Image credit <a href="http://cartelen.louvre.fr/cartelen/visite?srv=car_not_frame&idNotice=10887&langue=en">Louvre Museum</a>, <i>The Music Lesson</i>, Jean Honore Fragonard, 1770, oil on canvas, 43" x 48", held by the Louvre Museum, Paris, France.<br />
<br />
And the kitty close-up:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo4OZJyfXfUgDugCzbhT4iIe0B5bKyKF2Qo-S7EXw9M3gzu9tICHVcE_TQv7uT5QmEWAYAJEa8vjdKeI-DnWCQ-haIbP4VwP_BCET1jP03ll0kkVtqbMOkVmZ5gmCeZG9WOj8MBRQbqAW1/s1600/Snip20180721_2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="128" data-original-width="149" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo4OZJyfXfUgDugCzbhT4iIe0B5bKyKF2Qo-S7EXw9M3gzu9tICHVcE_TQv7uT5QmEWAYAJEa8vjdKeI-DnWCQ-haIbP4VwP_BCET1jP03ll0kkVtqbMOkVmZ5gmCeZG9WOj8MBRQbqAW1/s400/Snip20180721_2.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Frederix Vitoux and Elisabeth Foucart-Walter, in their book <i>Cats in the Louvre</i>, provide this analysis:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #d9ead3;">Fragonard liked featuring animals in his compositions....The cat in this Music Lesson, comfortably ensconced on a chair next to a pandora, is not, however, the most successful feline on Fargonard's oeuvre, at least from a morphological point of view. Still, such loose treatment gives him an amusing look and the eye is fatefully attracted to him</span>.</blockquote>
<br />
My take is just as discussed above: this is a sorry-looking cat...but cute. The cat is where one's eye is first drawn, and only after you scope out the kitty do you notice the other pair of characters...whose minds are seemingly <u>not</u> on their music.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">
<span style="background-color: white;">[Gary note: With my </span><i style="background-color: white;">Cats in Arts</i><span style="background-color: white;"> posts, I encourage you to scope out the art appreciation site </span><a href="https://www.artsy.net/" style="background-color: white; color: #7c93a1; text-decoration: none;">Artsy</a><span style="background-color: white;"> (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!]</span></div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />
<br />
<br />Gary...a relative of Mister Tristanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458735546068405044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775279775600371229.post-41766737028845585232018-07-15T09:03:00.001-04:002018-07-15T09:03:45.163-04:00Cats in Art: Portrait of Two Children With a Cat and a Canary<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 27px;">From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. Having moved on </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">from Stefano Zuffi's marvelous work, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">The Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 27px;">I am now using some ideas from </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Caroline Bugler's equally impressive book, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">The Cat/3500 Years of the Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">. You really should check out and/or own both of these wonderful works, easily available on Amazon or eBay (and I have no financial </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">interest).</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><a href="http://mistertristan.blogspot.com/2018/06/cats-in-art-little-girl-playing-with.html">Two weeks ago I posted</a> on </span>Francois-Hubert Drouais where I delved into a pair of paintings that are similar but not identical. Here's another painting attributed to Drouais that I find fascinating:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhMVrdNdKRUwQgYn37z60WAJKPbHtG8ver_gx315pOAVPrOKYb2mFL6gWiQyYE8h5ReAos2zor8ViEVKsXsL3jBMZlD-k12xrsqwDgF8FCtjUSnbswWA46dw_EToAt533aGw9Hk-DicpH-/s1600/Snip20180715_7.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="967" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhMVrdNdKRUwQgYn37z60WAJKPbHtG8ver_gx315pOAVPrOKYb2mFL6gWiQyYE8h5ReAos2zor8ViEVKsXsL3jBMZlD-k12xrsqwDgF8FCtjUSnbswWA46dw_EToAt533aGw9Hk-DicpH-/s640/Snip20180715_7.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Image credit <a href="http://www.artnet.com/artists/fran%C3%A7ois-hubert-drouais/portrait-de-deux-enfants-jouant-avec-un-chat-et-ws03naViou88dr4Kk8fBQg2">art auction site Artnet</a>, <i>Portrait of Two Children With a Cat and a Canary</i>, middle 1700s, attributed to Francois-Hubert Drouais, oil on canvas, 30" x 41", holder unspecified.<br />
<br />
And the kitty-kid-canary close-up:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP-75Wjhx3dawli1-YT4KLUidbLPqUDgr8RKdhoI9taa53gJahkLyGHMJyYxzWp1_56gVnX-oWF1lB7L4IBc2NAiFF-YitlrDpw4bU1Gfk6kPqW18KmVGi2xtq2Igj2_FURXUSaXpfpkaD/s1600/Snip20180715_10.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="308" data-original-width="241" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP-75Wjhx3dawli1-YT4KLUidbLPqUDgr8RKdhoI9taa53gJahkLyGHMJyYxzWp1_56gVnX-oWF1lB7L4IBc2NAiFF-YitlrDpw4bU1Gfk6kPqW18KmVGi2xtq2Igj2_FURXUSaXpfpkaD/s400/Snip20180715_10.png" width="312" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Couple reactions to this painting:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
--Do you think--as I do--that the human eyes and the cat eyes are remarkably similar? Rather tall, tending toward round, and not so much oblong? </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
--Cat, canary, young children....what could possibly go wrong?</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
--Despite the inherent danger of the situation, the mood of the painting (yes, paintings do have moods!) is quite benign and placid. Sure, the kitty is eyeing up the canary but it seems more interested in play than in prey.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
--If you click over to the Artnet site (my image credit above) you will note that there have been over 300 art auctions of the paintings of Francois-Hubert Drouais (or his emulators). Wow. There is certainly a HUGE art auction market of which ordinary people have little knowledge. And I am not being snide when I say I get it: rich people have to have someplace to park their money. You buy upscale things, possessions, connotations of wealth.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">[Gary note: With my </span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Cats in Arts</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"> posts, I encourage you to scope out the art appreciation site </span><a href="https://www.artsy.net/" style="background-color: white; color: #7c93a1; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-decoration: none;">Artsy</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"> (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!]</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<br />Gary...a relative of Mister Tristanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458735546068405044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775279775600371229.post-12214102912883163882018-07-08T07:57:00.000-04:002018-07-08T07:57:33.886-04:00Cats in Art: Olympia (Manet)<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sorry about being dark last week, was on vacation and my scheduled post somehow failed to run (I'm pretty sure it was my operator error).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 27px;">From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. Having moved on </span><span style="background-color: white;">from Stefano Zuffi's marvelous work, </span><i>The Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">, </span><span style="line-height: 27px;">I am now using some ideas from </span><span style="background-color: white;">Caroline Bugler's equally impressive book, </span><i>The Cat/3500 Years of the Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">. You really should check out and/or own both of these wonderful works, easily available on Amazon or eBay (and I have no financial </span><span style="background-color: white;">interest).</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://mistertristan.blogspot.com/2017/07/cats-in-art-olympia-manet.html">Here's an image</a> from Edouard Manet that I used here at Mister Tristan (the blog, not the 10 year old human being) about a year ago (you may want to click over to see my comments):</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDBdMCepG07HzIqmarKovlKtSaNXwJrOEbOAuBnSTYcJda1WYFnXc-INSg11PuOVKol2lWkBVZebaqtvV-IDSizY2vsF28sizeyj2vPu_cW8ce_3-Y9BppyJuZJO_FFgUl66Thz4mStqB9/s1600/Snip20180708_4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="713" data-original-width="1044" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDBdMCepG07HzIqmarKovlKtSaNXwJrOEbOAuBnSTYcJda1WYFnXc-INSg11PuOVKol2lWkBVZebaqtvV-IDSizY2vsF28sizeyj2vPu_cW8ce_3-Y9BppyJuZJO_FFgUl66Thz4mStqB9/s640/Snip20180708_4.png" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;">In my previous blog post I commented how the black kitty down at the foot of the bed is pretty much invisible, being black-on-black. Also how I ran that post prior to visiting the Orsay Museum in Paris...and now I have stood in front of this magnificent painting and been awed by it. Wow!</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;">In browsing the (so-called) complete works of Manet, I just ran across this preliminary sketch that perhaps was used as a study prior to painting the image:</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibdX7Y9OH_C-LI4mLXYrpcNHkEBeNAc84qf354by0LJgpMlRoUd1ifw1ju00l4XeZqzBeZU2j4AW7V5c3WM_MR7TW892h1z3RIuJnXcHRKzvCft8w-f_HWP8OwPhZWL2aT-NLxa6cxMc_w/s1600/Snip20180708_2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="1039" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibdX7Y9OH_C-LI4mLXYrpcNHkEBeNAc84qf354by0LJgpMlRoUd1ifw1ju00l4XeZqzBeZU2j4AW7V5c3WM_MR7TW892h1z3RIuJnXcHRKzvCft8w-f_HWP8OwPhZWL2aT-NLxa6cxMc_w/s640/Snip20180708_2.png" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Image credit <a href="https://www.manetedouard.org/Olympia.html">here</a>, <i>Olympia</i>, Edouard Manet, no other information available. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And the kitty close-up:</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhToDmoNAtBE7oU4HjuW05QCWC06Jf_Qs8Gip6zREcbyYA8y7YCKayUjCaXY6CaYpZwskloDlmuLajlg965pLXn3KwiFab0FW1_T8csrE5ZbQPNzI5fsxANSYqlqZxAKSCjMS5-MPMx8hMw/s1600/Snip20180708_3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="298" data-original-width="225" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhToDmoNAtBE7oU4HjuW05QCWC06Jf_Qs8Gip6zREcbyYA8y7YCKayUjCaXY6CaYpZwskloDlmuLajlg965pLXn3KwiFab0FW1_T8csrE5ZbQPNzI5fsxANSYqlqZxAKSCjMS5-MPMx8hMw/s400/Snip20180708_3.png" width="302" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"></span><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRyPMtv_ziS7t6q6U6BXBwMCWNyIOQVpAwkWV9aQJM1sDxbGBC2L4t05E81StqelzPYFs6IC_SB2VIdmqrPlHFQU12982QHeRdyCxFwTN4E3FA3c2iSNQuWlV7SRMchCMrjjV-k8mwcbZt/s1600/Snip20180611_11.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #7c93a1; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Too bad Manet didn't emphasize the black cat more in the final painting. Or maybe he did, and the years have not been kind to the painting. Many images over the years fade, or get coated with grime and haze such that details are lost. Or--and this is perhaps heretical--Manet screwed up his background and simply made it too dark in the final oil painting.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here's the photo I took of the cat when I was at the Orsay. The poor kitty deserves better, getting kinda lost in the background:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDqrL1hl8Cv1NSGWcSPKHHRzQwQecmYkNt0vEh_0L91x3i6NYCxmEMGGK43Bh6-LcQcySNzeMZSWCQA9K65upa-gxEQ6iS19hNyhLL14eUSmH0z_-o8OnFQunrjAbAF-STn6Rnts3nmvk0/s1600/Snip20180708_6.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="921" data-original-width="625" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDqrL1hl8Cv1NSGWcSPKHHRzQwQecmYkNt0vEh_0L91x3i6NYCxmEMGGK43Bh6-LcQcySNzeMZSWCQA9K65upa-gxEQ6iS19hNyhLL14eUSmH0z_-o8OnFQunrjAbAF-STn6Rnts3nmvk0/s400/Snip20180708_6.png" width="273" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><br /><span style="background-color: white;"></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;">[Gary note: With my </span><i style="background-color: white;">Cats in Arts</i><span style="background-color: white;"> posts, I encourage you to scope out the art appreciation site </span><a href="https://www.artsy.net/" style="background-color: white; color: #7c93a1; text-decoration: none;">Artsy</a><span style="background-color: white;"> (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!]</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></span>Gary...a relative of Mister Tristanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458735546068405044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775279775600371229.post-12204217880637501052018-06-24T05:00:00.000-04:002018-06-24T05:00:11.776-04:00Cats in Art: Little Girl Playing With a Cat (after Droiais)<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 27px;">From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. Having moved on </span><span style="background-color: white;">from Stefano Zuffi's marvelous work, </span><i>The Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">, </span><span style="line-height: 27px;">I am now using some ideas from </span><span style="background-color: white;">Caroline Bugler's equally impressive book, </span><i>The Cat/3500 Years of the Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">. You really should check out and/or own both of these wonderful works, easily available on Amazon or eBay (and I have no financial </span><span style="background-color: white;">interest).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here are a pair of paintings by Francois-Hubert Drouais that are almost identical....but not quite. At least to me. See what you think (and I apologize in advance for the slight graininess, which make it tough to see the details):</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhco9V8W27eQ-dxN0q8hsM9VNxWTfHbdS94Wa4Ro7KrVB74HdZZ0xxYjY9P-s6KG_2C8IDpcf1b9y6Oa7xeEmKsOBUh1FQZMgHRpbRfoq19WI2AiNVYzbE9u7B_C4y5KUTIrDyONM5zIskc/s1600/Snip20180611_10.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="501" data-original-width="489" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhco9V8W27eQ-dxN0q8hsM9VNxWTfHbdS94Wa4Ro7KrVB74HdZZ0xxYjY9P-s6KG_2C8IDpcf1b9y6Oa7xeEmKsOBUh1FQZMgHRpbRfoq19WI2AiNVYzbE9u7B_C4y5KUTIrDyONM5zIskc/s640/Snip20180611_10.png" width="624" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRyPMtv_ziS7t6q6U6BXBwMCWNyIOQVpAwkWV9aQJM1sDxbGBC2L4t05E81StqelzPYFs6IC_SB2VIdmqrPlHFQU12982QHeRdyCxFwTN4E3FA3c2iSNQuWlV7SRMchCMrjjV-k8mwcbZt/s1600/Snip20180611_11.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="133" data-original-width="152" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRyPMtv_ziS7t6q6U6BXBwMCWNyIOQVpAwkWV9aQJM1sDxbGBC2L4t05E81StqelzPYFs6IC_SB2VIdmqrPlHFQU12982QHeRdyCxFwTN4E3FA3c2iSNQuWlV7SRMchCMrjjV-k8mwcbZt/s400/Snip20180611_11.png" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Image credit <a href="http://www.artnet.com/artists/fran%C3%A7ois-hubert-drouais/?period=1700to1799">Artnet</a>, <i>Portrait of a Girl Holding a Cat</i>, Francois-Hubert Drouais, auctioned 28 Jan 2005, <span style="color: #333333; letter-spacing: 1px;">oil on canvas, 20" x 20", in a painted circle, holder unspecified.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<dd style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-stretch: normal; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 18px; margin-left: 130px; padding-bottom: 30px;"><span id="ctl00_mainContentPlaceHolder_ucArtworkArea_repArtworkDetails_ctl00_ucBasicDetailsControl_artworkYear" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></dd><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpy6KQnfSOoNsAezFp_HPEVNZ7k8MqGpZGETjtauGL8aSdUpq_2e2Typ3wApg5nSFNvI6lqzj2BEzwWunO8sReXmtvqWNtvHntnne6zOh4K9h5ZQJeSvb8iUqLhIAgKU2F2CAoNRPXXrbW/s1600/Snip20180611_14.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="747" data-original-width="698" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpy6KQnfSOoNsAezFp_HPEVNZ7k8MqGpZGETjtauGL8aSdUpq_2e2Typ3wApg5nSFNvI6lqzj2BEzwWunO8sReXmtvqWNtvHntnne6zOh4K9h5ZQJeSvb8iUqLhIAgKU2F2CAoNRPXXrbW/s640/Snip20180611_14.png" width="598" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWkNkhM-6TwGr1TTk-9s-RSEazMzXbOIZ9pC2WWjsh_CW1x_UWgjtG6-7hfWJaC1vdu1vsQikpYKFqKTzkvpXFjwdateof_5hzszmLgvcM6DWykyJYDruOZtko6cP1e9XIlaneH41c7MPs/s1600/Snip20180611_15.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="221" height="351" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWkNkhM-6TwGr1TTk-9s-RSEazMzXbOIZ9pC2WWjsh_CW1x_UWgjtG6-7hfWJaC1vdu1vsQikpYKFqKTzkvpXFjwdateof_5hzszmLgvcM6DWykyJYDruOZtko6cP1e9XIlaneH41c7MPs/s400/Snip20180611_15.png" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Image credit <a href="https://www.mutualart.com/Artist/Francois-Hubert-Drouais/DB61950A9FD0CD60/Artworks?Params=3130303433332C43757272656E74506167652C332C31">Mutual Art,</a> A Girl With a Cat, Francois-Hubert Drouais (signed) <span style="color: #131721; font-family: "lato" , "moderat" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 21.176469802856445px;">oil on canvas, </span><span style="color: #131721; font-family: "lato" , "moderat" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 21.176469802856445px;">25" x 21", with additions, auctioned on </span><span itemprop="datePublished" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #131721; display: inline-block;">Jan. 30, 2014.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In flipping back and forth between the art auction sites Artnet and Mutual Art, I was going a bit buggy. I think that at least one of these paintings has been auctioned more than once, so that kinda compounds the tracking issue.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Be that as it may, the salient point is that we are dealing with a pair of paintings. Your eye may be better than mine, but the detail that jumps out at me is the tiny lock of hair hanging down under the girl's hat onto her forehead. The angle of the hat is also slightly different, more than simply a slight rotation of the round painting.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Also in the first painting--I call it the "brighter" one--the cat's mouth is slightly parted and teeth are visible, making it appear slightly more sinister, perhaps?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Anyway, this is the type of thing that I find myself delving into here with my Cats in Art series. One other interesting fact: per the Artnet site, there have been some 329 actions of pieces from Francoise-Hubert Drouais. Wow!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span style="background-color: white;"></span><span style="background-color: white;">[Gary note: With my </span><i style="background-color: white;">Cats in Arts</i><span style="background-color: white;"> posts, I encourage you to scope out the art appreciation site </span><a href="https://www.artsy.net/" style="background-color: white; color: #7c93a1; text-decoration: none;">Artsy</a><span style="background-color: white;"> (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!]</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>Gary...a relative of Mister Tristanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458735546068405044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775279775600371229.post-35407783060705174882018-06-17T05:00:00.000-04:002018-06-17T05:00:01.112-04:00Cats in Art: Leopard (Oudry)<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 27px;">From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. Having moved on </span><span style="background-color: white;">from Stefano Zuffi's marvelous work, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">The Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">, </span><span style="line-height: 27px;">I am now using some ideas from </span><span style="background-color: white;">Caroline Bugler's equally impressive book, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">The Cat/3500 Years of the Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">. You really should check out and/or own both of these wonderful works, easily available on Amazon or eBay (and I have no financial </span><span style="background-color: white;">interest).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;"></span><span style="background-color: white;">The bride and I had a wonderful vacation in France this fall where we were privileged to see both the Louvre and Orsay Museums. Of the two, the Orsay was much better--less crowded, could get closer to the paintings, more cats.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;">This is the fifth and I think final post on the cat art of Jean-Baptiste Oudry.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6JBQTF-Nqwdgw2LUJ2KzBbZ-R7FhrZzFsepGtP_fe38kfYvkNW4mWdmTzvapx4ZQh2sDRByjl13V7KEom7t7OgKCZcF-W773y3MKZoZbF-dOw2Ya9v1wj6GiI9SNPJ1uqfFS1Ft278Z2U/s1600/Snip20180608_6.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="473" data-original-width="596" height="506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6JBQTF-Nqwdgw2LUJ2KzBbZ-R7FhrZzFsepGtP_fe38kfYvkNW4mWdmTzvapx4ZQh2sDRByjl13V7KEom7t7OgKCZcF-W773y3MKZoZbF-dOw2Ya9v1wj6GiI9SNPJ1uqfFS1Ft278Z2U/s640/Snip20180608_6.png" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Image credit <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jean-Baptiste_Oudry_Leopard,_1741.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a>, <i>Leopard</i>, Jean-Baptiste Oudry, 1741, oil on canvas, 51" x 62", held by <span style="color: #222222;">Staatliches Museum Schwerin</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> (</span><span style="color: #222222;">State Museum Schwerin</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">), </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwerin" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none;" title="Schwerin">Schwerin</a>, <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Germany.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And the kitty close-up:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbYeNRiqUhOiGMoLry3_REP8ka6CTcoOrHC0CtSoLpilXr7B5Y1ia-o8SitLOqlFDgtLUurJghB8il9GzMxxMLDg3a3a-XzqTZXC7F9OQ1E1d1SjeKoiKiFgbfGSoiWxZqiYQxA5Fds0j4/s1600/Snip20180608_7.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="153" data-original-width="180" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbYeNRiqUhOiGMoLry3_REP8ka6CTcoOrHC0CtSoLpilXr7B5Y1ia-o8SitLOqlFDgtLUurJghB8il9GzMxxMLDg3a3a-XzqTZXC7F9OQ1E1d1SjeKoiKiFgbfGSoiWxZqiYQxA5Fds0j4/s400/Snip20180608_7.png" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Oudry painted a bunch of exotic animals, and this leopard is one of the finest. I assume that in the 1700s, zoos were being established in Europe, enabling painters like Oudry to see real critters to paint from life.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This poor leopard superficially looks fierce and threatening, but to me it's just a bluff: the cat is just plain scared, and Oudry manages to capture that emotion.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">[Gary note: With my </span><i style="background-color: white;">Cats in Arts</i><span style="background-color: white;"> posts, I encourage you to scope out the art appreciation site </span><a href="https://www.artsy.net/" style="background-color: white; color: #7c93a1; text-decoration: none;">Artsy</a><span style="background-color: white;"> (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!]</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>Gary...a relative of Mister Tristanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458735546068405044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775279775600371229.post-24264781354016734122018-06-10T05:00:00.000-04:002018-06-10T05:00:03.477-04:00Cats in Art: The Monkey and the Cat (Oudry)<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 27px;">From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. Having moved on </span><span style="background-color: white;">from Stefano Zuffi's marvelous work, </span><i>The Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">, </span><span style="line-height: 27px;">I am now using some ideas from </span><span style="background-color: white;">Caroline Bugler's equally impressive book, </span><i>The Cat/3500 Years of the Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">. You really should check out and/or own both of these wonderful works, easily available on Amazon or eBay (and I have no financial </span><span style="background-color: white;">interest).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;"></span><span style="background-color: white;">The bride and I just returned from a wonderful vacation in France where we were privileged to see both the Louvre and Orsay Museums. Of the two, the Orsay was much better--less crowded, could get closer to the paintings, more cats.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Today is the fourth of at least 5 posts on the cat art of </span><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">Jean-Baptiste Oudry.</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0mPOTsd8O13-hgAsMkF4IbiC5XTJEQ6X1hHy93FwHyJqQYNnSj9Ghfs48g4nRYLiZRsZOIx1UJwnvFbdQwVSY_7SblFlRQoFq7hX6BeuVv7yO98Bn3Y7jyM1HiZvOH5y5lFqunF44zWza/s1600/Snip20180602_15.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="485" data-original-width="582" height="532" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0mPOTsd8O13-hgAsMkF4IbiC5XTJEQ6X1hHy93FwHyJqQYNnSj9Ghfs48g4nRYLiZRsZOIx1UJwnvFbdQwVSY_7SblFlRQoFq7hX6BeuVv7yO98Bn3Y7jyM1HiZvOH5y5lFqunF44zWza/s640/Snip20180602_15.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Image credit <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oudry_monkey.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a>, <i>The Monkey and the Cat</i>, Jean-Baptiste Oudry, 17439, medium and size unspecified, current holder unspecified. <br />
<br />
And the kitty close-ups:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE4HhVnnmClmpFSFogYjMFg7SZvU_19_yStoDAvtVtgUi5fV5t9K8jPXvh93TJDC_VFfDU234FrF1egsNst1nNId5zHuoyQPurLk-96OLubWRhlsBTr77ygkU4CKVbt1PpOcsT44_OHwIS/s1600/Snip20180602_17.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="233" data-original-width="247" height="377" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE4HhVnnmClmpFSFogYjMFg7SZvU_19_yStoDAvtVtgUi5fV5t9K8jPXvh93TJDC_VFfDU234FrF1egsNst1nNId5zHuoyQPurLk-96OLubWRhlsBTr77ygkU4CKVbt1PpOcsT44_OHwIS/s400/Snip20180602_17.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdU_QCNnA4z8P-xel_hlXIiIAxTpoN2pkI2Qtd23VQu09Z5R9ruzQGkcS3or3j4toIS4qvEM-fo2_ebCTLiC5R00yfAfyh5vMA3qbAGdOFCofQijtDPkA_4r4VmrLyfmhLj3tZhbErWcxL/s1600/Snip20180602_18.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="98" data-original-width="103" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdU_QCNnA4z8P-xel_hlXIiIAxTpoN2pkI2Qtd23VQu09Z5R9ruzQGkcS3or3j4toIS4qvEM-fo2_ebCTLiC5R00yfAfyh5vMA3qbAGdOFCofQijtDPkA_4r4VmrLyfmhLj3tZhbErWcxL/s400/Snip20180602_18.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
In the photo above, isn't that the most honest cat face you have ever seen? Practically pleading, "I'm trying hard to be a good kitty. Really!"</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Somewhere on the net I found this image and holder of the painting to be attributed to the Birmingham Museum and Gallery in the UK. That seems not to be the case when I go to the museum web site. So I presume that this wonderful image hangs in someone's private collection rather than in a museum for all to enjoy.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Anyway, Oudry's image is associated with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Monkey_and_the_Cat">fable by the author Jean de la Fontaine</a>:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #d9ead3;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">In La Fontaine's telling, Bertrand the monkey persuades Raton the cat to pull chestnuts from the embers amongst which they are roasting, promising him a share. As the cat scoops them from the fire one by one, burning his paw in the process, the monkey gobbles them up. They are disturbed by a maid entering and the cat gets nothing for its pains.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"> It is from this fable that the French get their idiom </span><i style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"><a class="extiw" href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fr:tirer_les_marrons_du_feu" style="background-image: none; color: #663366; text-decoration: none;" title="wikt:fr:tirer les marrons du feu">Tirer les marrons du feu</a></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">, meaning to act as someone's dupe or, deriving from that, to benefit from the dirty work of others. It is also the source of the English idiom 'a cat's paw', defined in the </span><a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merriam-Webster_Dictionary" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-decoration: none;" title="Merriam-Webster Dictionary">Merriam-Webster Dictionary</a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"> as 'one used by another as a tool'.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"> </span></span></blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">Also note that on various sites the </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">title of this work is shown as either <i>The Cat and the Monkey</i>, or <i>The Monkey and the Cat</i>. Sadly, the latter with its featured billing of the monkey seems to be correct.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">[Gary note: With my </span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Cats in Arts</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"> posts, I encourage you to scope out the art appreciation site </span><a href="https://www.artsy.net/" style="background-color: white; color: #7c93a1; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-decoration: none;">Artsy</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"> (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!]</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />Gary...a relative of Mister Tristanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458735546068405044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775279775600371229.post-33091590052071026372018-06-03T05:00:00.000-04:002018-06-03T05:00:03.830-04:00Cats in Art: Cat With a Kitten (Oudry)<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 27px;">From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. Having moved on </span><span style="background-color: white;">from Stefano Zuffi's marvelous work, </span><i>The Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">, </span><span style="line-height: 27px;">I am now using some ideas from </span><span style="background-color: white;">Caroline Bugler's equally impressive book, </span><i>The Cat/3500 Years of the Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">. You really should check out and/or own both of these wonderful works, easily available on Amazon or eBay (and I have no financial </span><span style="background-color: white;">interest).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;"></span><span style="background-color: white;">The bride and I just returned from a wonderful vacation in France where we were privileged to see both the Louvre and Orsay Museums. Of the two, the Orsay was much better--less crowded, could get closer to the paintings, more cats.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;">Today is the third of at least 4 posts on the cat art of </span></span><span style="text-align: center;">Jean-Baptiste Oudry.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbjXsE-ATLBOqTYqsq2jqffvgxTF0Pe1-Ma-L7fAvM5aogFmUDrfziGbX1V-BMi5PkGz2ZHr2z5BmF9R3rJLqAwpKt4R-txp3ilNlSUAJRKH5GpWHFOZNhi1Jc8OOD8XLRjNr8flMnHxah/s1600/Snip20180602_9.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="784" data-original-width="977" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbjXsE-ATLBOqTYqsq2jqffvgxTF0Pe1-Ma-L7fAvM5aogFmUDrfziGbX1V-BMi5PkGz2ZHr2z5BmF9R3rJLqAwpKt4R-txp3ilNlSUAJRKH5GpWHFOZNhi1Jc8OOD8XLRjNr8flMnHxah/s640/Snip20180602_9.png" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Image credit <a href="https://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/detail.php?ID=210379">The Athenaeum</a>, <i>Cat With a Kitten</i>, Jean-Baptiste Oudry, 1737, size and medium unspecified, held in a private collection.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And the close up of the kitties, where I only capture the faces:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj14LSfK1tuIjLJfkZFJp6wCmi9_ufKadGIxzXyPng1_hlo0q_tUAP3afWhHhyphenhyphen3edrRF09d3VnQWIIU5XMRMCFdErjlmhr7RKFXHL0pPUUInDFKrD4Gn5P3hRkYOuE-8khZ0wOOeBoeT8ET/s1600/Snip20180602_11.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="171" data-original-width="280" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj14LSfK1tuIjLJfkZFJp6wCmi9_ufKadGIxzXyPng1_hlo0q_tUAP3afWhHhyphenhyphen3edrRF09d3VnQWIIU5XMRMCFdErjlmhr7RKFXHL0pPUUInDFKrD4Gn5P3hRkYOuE-8khZ0wOOeBoeT8ET/s400/Snip20180602_11.png" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Mama cat looks eager and alert while her kitten looks a bit unsettled. From the number of cats that Oudry painted I must assume that he "owned" cats throughout his lifetime....obviously the reason he was such a great artist.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">[Gary note: With my </span><i style="background-color: white;">Cats in Arts</i><span style="background-color: white;"> posts, I encourage you to scope out the art appreciation site </span><a href="https://www.artsy.net/" style="background-color: white; color: #7c93a1; text-decoration: none;">Artsy</a><span style="background-color: white;"> (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!]</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<br />Gary...a relative of Mister Tristanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458735546068405044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775279775600371229.post-36339700609328909822018-05-27T08:22:00.001-04:002018-05-27T08:22:33.644-04:00Cats in Art: Two Cats (Oudry)<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 27px;">From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. Having moved on </span><span style="background-color: white;">from Stefano Zuffi's marvelous work, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">The Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">, </span><span style="line-height: 27px;">I am now using some ideas from </span><span style="background-color: white;">Caroline Bugler's equally impressive book, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">The Cat/3500 Years of the Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">. You really should check out and/or own both of these wonderful works, easily available on Amazon or eBay (and I have no financial </span><span style="background-color: white;">interest).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;"></span><span style="background-color: white;">The bride and I had a wonderful vacation in France this fall where we were privileged to see both the Louvre and Orsay Museums. Of the two, the Orsay was much better--less crowded, could get closer to the paintings, more cats.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;">This is second of at least 3 posts on the cat art of Jean-Baptiste Oudry. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiriBWTyvEuDSi52MNFOo4-yFuzARwI2gemfTrK0nmyy82KA9bjIyCWBtGqOtt8w8xgk0fE6XPXV3HlkEWKDxz5ddiJVzpk622mz1X7dDG0DP3UJrwP87_eA51aLNxcQMsYHen18ZF-I5u6/s1600/Snip20180527_7.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="561" data-original-width="707" height="506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiriBWTyvEuDSi52MNFOo4-yFuzARwI2gemfTrK0nmyy82KA9bjIyCWBtGqOtt8w8xgk0fE6XPXV3HlkEWKDxz5ddiJVzpk622mz1X7dDG0DP3UJrwP87_eA51aLNxcQMsYHen18ZF-I5u6/s640/Snip20180527_7.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Image credit <a href="https://www.gallery.ca/collection/artist/jean-baptiste-oudry">National Gallery of Canada</a>, <i>Two Cats</i>, Jean-Baptiste Oudry, 1725, oil on canvas, </span><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">29" x 36", held by the National Museum of Canada, Ottawa, Canada.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
And of course the kitty head shot:</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoOF4Grzd-4QTivbLKxIdeKOwQ8EdgFboIphYxsI07xB2M3iJKFPy7LP2-HA9zamjEltHKcgHvVp3-e_chatInU5T5D-MM8WW09l5kzHxJsmMIY4_Na3JtpAlvbpnA98gf69q_Uep7C_YZ/s1600/Snip20180527_8.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="285" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoOF4Grzd-4QTivbLKxIdeKOwQ8EdgFboIphYxsI07xB2M3iJKFPy7LP2-HA9zamjEltHKcgHvVp3-e_chatInU5T5D-MM8WW09l5kzHxJsmMIY4_Na3JtpAlvbpnA98gf69q_Uep7C_YZ/s400/Snip20180527_8.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white;">From the museum web site:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 18px;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #3d3833; font-family: "libre franklin", sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #d9ead3; color: #3d3833; font-family: "libre franklin", sans-serif;">Oudry has emphasized the large, gleaming eyes of the cats standing over a dead partridge. Both the defiant pose of the cats and the artist's attention to subtle differences in their markings suggest that this is a portrait. The work is contemporaneous with his portrait of "Le Général", Louis XV's cat. Oudry devoted his career to painting animals and was the official artist of the royal hunt.</span></blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: start;">
I don't think I've ever seen a cat as mad as the one on the right. Or maybe the cat is just intent upon the dead partridge, as painted, but the kitty just seems pissed beyond belief.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: start;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: start;">
Thus far I've done a little investigation but nothing seems to be turning up about the tantalizing tidbit in the museum comment concerning Oudry's painting of the cat of Louis XIV. Stay tuned!</div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><br /><span style="background-color: white;">[Gary note: With my </span><i style="background-color: white;">Cats in Arts</i><span style="background-color: white;"> posts, I encourage you to scope out the art appreciation site </span><a href="https://www.artsy.net/" style="background-color: white; color: #7c93a1; text-decoration: none;">Artsy</a><span style="background-color: white;"> (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!]</span></span>Gary...a relative of Mister Tristanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458735546068405044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775279775600371229.post-68496031772031486342018-05-20T05:00:00.000-04:002018-05-20T08:00:59.805-04:00Cats in Art: Head of a Mewing Cat (Oudry)<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 27px;">From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. Having moved on </span><span style="background-color: white;">from Stefano Zuffi's marvelous work, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">The Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">, </span><span style="line-height: 27px;">I am now using some ideas from </span><span style="background-color: white;">Caroline Bugler's equally impressive book, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">The Cat/3500 Years of the Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">. You really should check out and/or own both of these wonderful works, easily available on Amazon or eBay (and I have no financial </span><span style="background-color: white;">interest).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;"></span><span style="background-color: white;">The bride and I had a wonderful vacation in France this fall where we were privileged to see both the Louvre and Orsay Museums. Of the two, the Orsay was much better--less crowded, could get closer to the paintings, more cats.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;">This is the first of at least two posts on the cat art of Jean-Baptiste Oudry.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgClmIv77kdsu3u-P-RLxoofxob_iFm8eqZqTW8zFKFxyky4r4lvbEv3LIOQ0PdkA08CAC3hhjyOvwgMmKCoilcDmgLMAIoomF8_UksrJ2OodmjRD6drfWkZ-xqwNLeFj7UfdAGz8JLxYC8/s1600/Snip20180519_6.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="636" height="598" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgClmIv77kdsu3u-P-RLxoofxob_iFm8eqZqTW8zFKFxyky4r4lvbEv3LIOQ0PdkA08CAC3hhjyOvwgMmKCoilcDmgLMAIoomF8_UksrJ2OodmjRD6drfWkZ-xqwNLeFj7UfdAGz8JLxYC8/s640/Snip20180519_6.png" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;"></span>
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0CZ2FKnN-avGL8jNHSmX3j0R5fSnmI65aR4DMuQhvKQasE6IC-WNy1xTMeD-6q51-IaYDTHgya8i2QcstwtrAj6_fUTgMl0O2Tz8sjE1t_4wdi4NBnj_iRzcla_CZn-XuqXbPniM83nbn/s1600/Snip20180513_3.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #7c93a1; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Image credit <a href="https://higherinquietude.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/jean-baptiste-oudry-head-of-a-cat-meowing.jpg?w=436">Pinterest</a>, <i>Head of a Cat Mewing</i>, Jean-Baptiste Oudry, early 1700s, black chalk, pastel with white highlights, 6" x 6", held by the Louvre Museum, Paris, France. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And today no kitty close-up is warranted!</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj5E_HApPVI92OMGW669uxkaSiPkfYbWVfmHiXo_EYmjEqNKn2pSCrSqo3g0nqoqn27haDgV326m6ZwVtqnuMvzzq2oqXTaGqeLiqEWjnG7uJmkoePURfNdR3LTBfOpRhUf9NpwpvrMEvL/s1600/Snip20180513_5.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #7c93a1; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The analysis in the Vitoux and Foucart-Walter book Cats in the Louvre:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #d9ead3; font-family: inherit;">Bearing [sic] its little pointed teeth and with his whiskers every which way, the face of this puling cat is little short of terrifying. It is so true to life that surely it was drawn from nature. And yet nothing could be further from the truth. Oudry quite simply copied it from a study showing several animals, including this cat's head [by Pieter Boel, held by "the museum at Alencon"]. </span></blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Did you notice the image credit? I can almost hear you saying, "Pinterest, really??!!" Again I've encountered one of the vagaries of the Internet: diligent search of the web, to include the Louvre website, uncovered no primary sources for this image. I could only find sites like Pinterest and art reproduction sites.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Also did you notice the tiny size of the chalk sketch? Only 6" square, yet all that marvelous kitty detail!</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">All I can say is that I wouldn't want to have to give flea meds--or any meds--to this particular kitty. I value my life and limb a tad too much.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;">[Gary note: With my </span><i style="background-color: white;">Cats in Arts</i><span style="background-color: white;"> posts, I encourage you to scope out the art appreciation site </span><a href="https://www.artsy.net/" style="background-color: white; color: #7c93a1; text-decoration: none;">Artsy</a><span style="background-color: white;"> (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!]</span></span>Gary...a relative of Mister Tristanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458735546068405044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775279775600371229.post-14253282004468659272018-05-13T20:06:00.003-04:002018-05-13T20:06:34.808-04:00Cats in Art: Earthly Paradis (de Vos)<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 27px;">From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. Having moved on </span><span style="background-color: white;">from Stefano Zuffi's marvelous work, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">The Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">, </span><span style="line-height: 27px;">I am now using some ideas from </span><span style="background-color: white;">Caroline Bugler's equally impressive book, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">The Cat/3500 Years of the Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">. You really should check out and/or own both of these wonderful works, easily available on Amazon or eBay (and I have no financial </span><span style="background-color: white;">interest).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;"></span><span style="background-color: white;">The bride and I had a wonderful vacation in France this fall where we were privileged to see both the Louvre and Orsay Museums. Of the two, the Orsay was much better--less crowded, could get closer to the paintings, more cats.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0CZ2FKnN-avGL8jNHSmX3j0R5fSnmI65aR4DMuQhvKQasE6IC-WNy1xTMeD-6q51-IaYDTHgya8i2QcstwtrAj6_fUTgMl0O2Tz8sjE1t_4wdi4NBnj_iRzcla_CZn-XuqXbPniM83nbn/s1600/Snip20180513_3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="748" data-original-width="1108" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0CZ2FKnN-avGL8jNHSmX3j0R5fSnmI65aR4DMuQhvKQasE6IC-WNy1xTMeD-6q51-IaYDTHgya8i2QcstwtrAj6_fUTgMl0O2Tz8sjE1t_4wdi4NBnj_iRzcla_CZn-XuqXbPniM83nbn/s640/Snip20180513_3.png" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Image credit <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Workshop_of_Paul_de_Vos_-_Paradise_on_earth.jpg">WikiMedia Commons</a>, <i>Earthly Paradise</i>, Paul de Vos (and studio), 1600s, oil on canvas, 7' 2" x 10' 10", a replica of the original held by the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Italy, held by the Louvre Museum, Paris, France. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And the kitty close-up:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj5E_HApPVI92OMGW669uxkaSiPkfYbWVfmHiXo_EYmjEqNKn2pSCrSqo3g0nqoqn27haDgV326m6ZwVtqnuMvzzq2oqXTaGqeLiqEWjnG7uJmkoePURfNdR3LTBfOpRhUf9NpwpvrMEvL/s1600/Snip20180513_5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="188" data-original-width="242" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj5E_HApPVI92OMGW669uxkaSiPkfYbWVfmHiXo_EYmjEqNKn2pSCrSqo3g0nqoqn27haDgV326m6ZwVtqnuMvzzq2oqXTaGqeLiqEWjnG7uJmkoePURfNdR3LTBfOpRhUf9NpwpvrMEvL/s400/Snip20180513_5.png" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The analysis in the Vitoux and Foucart-Walter book Cats in the Louvre, as the paired critters are about ready to embark upon the Ark:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: #d9ead3;">It was normal for painters to fill their depictions of Paradise with beasts of all kinds, so as to recall that, in accordance with biblical texts (Genesis), Adam was called upon by the Eternal to name every member of the animal kingdom.</span> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #d9ead3; font-family: inherit;">Very oddly, our [singular] cat has not adopted the placid attitude one might expect from him: with ears flattened and eyes bulging, he seems in a rage and ready to leap at some invisible adversary. Perhaps he can sense that the end of this Garden of Eden is nigh.</span></blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The painting is huuuuuge, as was de V</span>os'<span style="font-family: inherit;"> habit, measuring some 7 feet tall </span>and<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span>nearly<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 11 feet wide. Can you imagine standing right there and seeing it in </span>person? (<span style="font-family: inherit;">unfortunately we completely </span>missed<span style="font-family: inherit;"> it as we hustled of necessity thru the Louvre).</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This is obviously a very bad cat. Perhaps he was annoyed at the presumptuousness of Adam to name him. Obviously, as I always say, we can </span>never<span style="font-family: inherit;"> know the real name of any animal; we only know what we call them.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I've done three posts on the cat art of Paul de Dos previously: <i><a href="http://mistertristan.blogspot.com/2016/05/cats-in-art-still-life-with-game-and.html">Still Life With Game and Lobster,</a> <a href="http://mistertristan.blogspot.com/2016/05/cats-in-art-catfight-in-pantry-de-vos.html">Catfight in a Pantry</a>, </i>and<i> <a href="http://mistertristan.blogspot.com/2016/06/cats-in-art-lion-and-three-wolves-de-vos.html">A Lion and Three Wolves</a>.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Of course, my fav has to be <i>Catfight in a Pantry</i>, where we see an airborne kitty. You know you want to click over to see it!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span style="background-color: white;">[Gary note: With my </span><i style="background-color: white;">Cats in Arts</i><span style="background-color: white;"> posts, I encourage you to scope out the art appreciation site </span><a href="https://www.artsy.net/" style="background-color: white; color: #7c93a1; text-decoration: none;">Artsy</a><span style="background-color: white;"> (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!]</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />Gary...a relative of Mister Tristanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458735546068405044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775279775600371229.post-84215918775835289352018-05-06T08:25:00.001-04:002018-05-06T08:25:05.123-04:00Cats in Art: Fishmongers at Their Stalls (Snyders)<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 27px;">From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. Having moved on </span><span style="background-color: white;">from Stefano Zuffi's marvelous work, </span><i>The Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">, </span><span style="line-height: 27px;">I am now using some ideas from </span><span style="background-color: white;">Caroline Bugler's equally impressive book, </span><i>The Cat/3500 Years of the Cat in Art</i><span style="background-color: white;">. You really should check out and/or own both of these wonderful works, easily available on Amazon or eBay (and I have no financial </span><span style="background-color: white;">interest).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;"></span><span style="background-color: white;">The bride and I just returned from a wonderful vacation in France where we were privileged to see both the Louvre and Orsay Museums. Of the two, the Orsay was much better--less crowded, could get closer to the paintings, more cats.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXUxb2-GJIGiJ_6UI9xoN0Q-EHBWmx_5wqTxeewERZUvM5f3T1wKwIftVwUWzcycwFSuItMox6Pmd0dVYKUBCj9Lrqdk2BdVmAz6ksU5w2ZRo1W1roIGmo3aNC-AZVaJ1_zOx7LEE5daTv/s1600/Snip20180506_1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="862" data-original-width="1420" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXUxb2-GJIGiJ_6UI9xoN0Q-EHBWmx_5wqTxeewERZUvM5f3T1wKwIftVwUWzcycwFSuItMox6Pmd0dVYKUBCj9Lrqdk2BdVmAz6ksU5w2ZRo1W1roIGmo3aNC-AZVaJ1_zOx7LEE5daTv/s640/Snip20180506_1.png" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Image credit <a href="https://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/detail.php?ID=130142">The Athenaeum</a>, <i>Fishmongers at Their Stalls</i> (or more simply, <i>Fish Stall</i>), Frans Snyders, ca 1616, oil on canvas, 6' 10" x 11' 2", held by State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The <a href="https://www.arthermitage.org/Frans-Snyders/Fish-Market.html">Hermitage web site</a> tells us that Snyders painted a number of quite similar scenes, that fortunately are held by the museum. This descriptor actually relates to another painting in the series but the background facts pertain:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #d9ead3;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Hermitage has 14 paintings by the famous Flemish painter of animals, hunting scenes and still lifes, Frans Snyders. Son of the owner of one of the largest restaurants in Antwerp, famous for its abundance of vegetables, fruit, fish and game, Snyders found rich material for his paintings. Snyders created his own individual concept of still life painting, which was monumental, decorative and dynamic. A characteristic example of this is the series of four market stalls commissioned from Snyders by Jacques van Ophem, powerful representative of the administration of Archduke Albert and the Infanta Isabella - the Spanish viceroys in the Southern Netherlands.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #d9ead3; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The Fishmarket</i> shows a seemingly endless variety of the inhabitants of rivers, seas and lakes, depicted by Snyders with almost biological precision. The human figures give the canvas something of the feel of a genre painting: one is catching eels in a wooden tub, another is cutting a fish into pieces, while in the background the life of a sea port unfolds.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And of course the kitty close-up, of a very poorly behaved feline:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ2KoDtNEmRNTWUlbaTGgdPzR9g2c-6qMFb0Gp0M75NOk0k2AR-lpTmgq5E6zXYyqs1J8bc4012mwqq3OfI7rH2z-3dXQUpt5aBSZQ3qkRpjdt2cWROr6n6LA2hvdsA9kJxGEMd1y-Y5ek/s1600/Snip20180506_2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="207" data-original-width="274" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ2KoDtNEmRNTWUlbaTGgdPzR9g2c-6qMFb0Gp0M75NOk0k2AR-lpTmgq5E6zXYyqs1J8bc4012mwqq3OfI7rH2z-3dXQUpt5aBSZQ3qkRpjdt2cWROr6n6LA2hvdsA9kJxGEMd1y-Y5ek/s400/Snip20180506_2.png" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Of course, if I were a cat in 1600s Russia, I'd likely be trying to score some fish too. All we can see is the poor cat's head and front paws, desperately trying to get some food.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Did you notice the size of this painting? It's <i>eleven</i> feet wide and <i>six</i> feet tall. Wow! Can you imagine standing in the Hermitage Museum, right in front of this canvas, and being able to see the rich tableau of seafood, and to be able to scope out the cat directly instead of via this rather fuzzy enlargement?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sounds like a road trip! Actually, a faithful copy of</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span>this<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span>painting<span style="font-family: inherit;"> hangs in </span>the<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Louvre, while the original is at the Hermitage. Vitoux and Foucart-Walter's book </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">Cats in the Louvre</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> provides that nugget of info.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">[Gary note: With my </span><i style="background-color: white;">Cats in Arts</i><span style="background-color: white;"> posts, I encourage you to scope out the art appreciation site </span><a href="https://www.artsy.net/" style="background-color: white; color: #7c93a1; text-decoration: none;">Artsy</a><span style="background-color: white;"> (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!]</span></span>Gary...a relative of Mister Tristanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458735546068405044noreply@blogger.com0