Cats in Art: Afternoon Bourgeous (Bonnard)

From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art.  Having moved on from Stefano Zuffi's marvelous work, The Cat in Art, I am now using some ideas from Caroline Bugler's equally impressive book, The Cat/3500 Years of the Cat in Art.  You really should check out and/or own both of these wonderful works, easily available on Amazon or eBay (and I have no financial interest).

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.

This is the fourth of several posts on the cat art of Pierre Bonnard.

Image credit Gary of painting at the Orsay Museum, A Bourgeois Afternoon or the Terrasse Family), Pierre Bonnard, 1900, oil on canvas, 55" × 83", held by Orsay Museum, Paris, France.

And the close-up of the three cats:

My impression from standing right in front of the wonderful painting was its size and detail.  It's nearly 5 feet high and 7 wide...now that's a canvas!  And the more I looked at it, the more detail I saw.  There are at least 13 people engaged in many actions, along with at least 6 animals.

The superbly rendered expression on the striped cat's face is priceless...again, evidence that Bonnard was a real cat expert who could capture feline nuances on his canvases.

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

Cats in Art: The Man and the Woman (Bonnard)

From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art.  Having moved on from Stefano Zuffi's marvelous work, The Cat in Art, I am now using some ideas from Caroline Bugler's equally impressive book, The Cat/3500 Years of the Cat in Art.  You really should check out and/or own both of these wonderful works, easily available on Amazon or eBay (and I have no financial interest).

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.

This is the third of several posts on the cat art of Pierre Bonnard.

Image credit Gary of painting at the Orsay Museum, The Man and the Woman, Pierre Bonnard, 1900, 46" x 29", oil on canvas, held by Orsay Museum, Paris, France.

And the close-up of the kitties from over there on the left:

The analysis on the Orsay web site:

What strikes us immediately about the painting is its audacious structure—the screen which separates the two figures divides the work into a kind of diptych. Bonnard was particularly interested in and influenced by Japanese ukiyo-eprints. Indeed his nickname amongst the Nabis was ‘Le Nabi très japonard’ (‘the very Japanese Nabi’). Ukiyo-e prints often employ a diptych or triptych format, echoing a two- or three-part narrative structure—in one part something is going on, while in another something else is going on. In Bonnard’s image, each side of the canvas is treated quite differently. In the left ‘panel’ Marthe is proportionally quite small. Emphasis is given to the subtle articulation of her skin tones, while there is a deliberate contrapuntal balancing of the massed base of the bed upon which the cats play, and the image of the painting above Marthe’s head. On the right we have the elongated form of Bonnard himself....

What I note from personal experience is that whenever the bride and I are in bed, we are an irresistible cat magnet.  Our cats come charging from wherever they may be in the house to rush the bedroom, launch themselves into the air onto the bed, and attempt to take over the space.  Evidently Bonnard was well acquainted with cats (judging from the number of paintings he placed cats in) and had to have been a cat "owner."

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

Cats in Art: Le Chat Blanc (Bonnard)

From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art.  Having moved on from Stefano Zuffi's marvelous work, The Cat in Art, I am now using some ideas from Caroline Bugler's equally impressive book, The Cat/3500 Years of the Cat in Art.  You really should check out and/or own both of these wonderful works, easily available on Amazon or eBay (and I have no financial interest).

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.

This is the second of several posts on the cat art of Pierre Bonnard.

Image credit Gary (taken at Orsay Museum), The White Cat, Pierre Bonnard, 1884, oil on card, 20" x 13", held by Orsay Museum, Paris, France.

The Orsay Museum web site tells us:

Here, Bonnard uses distortion to create a humorous image of this cat arching its back. A strange animal, exaggeratedly arched on its paws, with its head drawn down into its shoulders, eyes like slits and a cunning expression. It seems both tame and wild. 

The painter spent a long time deciding on the shape and the position of the paws, as can be seen in the preparatory drawings. The x-ray of this work also reveals many changes, some of which are actually visible to the naked eye. "Art is not nature" he used to say, to the extent that his White Cat has become almost a caricature, "a comical and humorous image created through the genius of its master who observed and understood it so well" (Elisabeth Foucart-Walter).

I love this playful take by Bonnard of the cute white cat.  The bride and I once had a kitty whom we called Charlotte (for I contend that we can never really know a cat's name), who would get up on her toes and skitter around the room to engage us in chasing play.  Bonnard's white cat looks like it already is in mid-skitter.  And deciding whether you deserve a paw whacking.

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

Cats in Art: Checked shirt (Portrait of Madame Claude Terrasse at twenty), Bonnard

From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art.  Having moved on from Stefano Zuffi's marvelous work, The Cat in Art, I am now using some ideas from Caroline Bugler's equally impressive book, The Cat/3500 Years of the Cat in Art.  You really should check out and/or own both of these wonderful works, easily available on Amazon or eBay (and I have no financial interest).

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.

This is the first of several posts on the cat art of Pierre Bonnard.

And the kitty close-up:

Image credit Gary of painting at the Orsay Museum, Checked shirt (Portrait of Madame Claude Terrasse at twenty),  Pierre Bonnard,  1892, 24" x 13", oil on canvas, held by Orsay Museum, Paris, France. 

Actually just saw this painting with my own eyes at the Orsay Museum in Paris.  Wow.  The best art book in the world cannot capture the texture and colors of an actual painting.

More art from Bonnard--a fav at the Orsay--to come in the ensuing weeks.

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

Cats in Art: My Companions (Bonnard)

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

This is part 8 of 8 of a multiweek study of the cat art of Pierre Bonnard, a French painter (1867-1947). In this series I've moved beyond the two pieces featured by Zuffi and am now studying the rest of Bonnard's cat paintings in chronological order.

It is fitting, perhaps, that as we wrap up our Bonnard study we are looking at a painting done shortly before his death, that by its very title seems to imply an ending, a shrinking life as evidenced by the fact that Bonnard's companions are critters rather than people.

Image credit WikiPaintings, My Companions, Pierre Bonnard, 1940s, sketch, no other information

 

Knowing how our cats just seem to love hanging out on the desk and computer table when I work, I can well imagine the antics of some cats in an art studio when the primary human is at work.

 

Reminds me of the story about Renoir that I previously blogged about here, and how much he loved his kitties.  In fact, the presence of cat hair in his paint is one of the proofs of authenticity.

 

 

Cats in Art: Child and Cats (Bonnard)

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

This is part 7 of 8 of a multiweek study of the cat art of Pierre Bonnard, a French painter (1867-1947). In this series I've moved beyond the two pieces featured by Zuffi and am now studying the rest of Bonnard's cat paintings in chronological order.

Image credit WikiPaintings, Child and Cats, Pierre Bonnard, 1940s, oil on canvas, no other information

 

Just like last week's post, we have the theme of a kitty trying to share a meal with a little girl....except different girl, different cat.  Plus there are two cats in this painting: the second one is lying in the girl's lap, being stroked.

 

And the kitty on the left is clearly annoyed; its ears are quite flattened.  At first glance one would think that the issue is probably over not being the one petted.  However, look at the gray cat's and the girl's eyes: they are focused on something across the table from them and to the viewer's right.

 

And the lap cat is about ready to bolt, although seemingly oblivious to whatever has riveted the attention of the others.

 

Plenty to wonder about in what first glance seems to be a fairly "normal" painting.  Once again, Bonnard adds some drama and keeps the viewer guessing a bit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cats in Art: Little Girl With a Cat (Bonnard)

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

This is part 6 of 8 of a multiweek study of the cat art of Pierre Bonnard, a French painter (1867-1947). In this series I've moved beyond the two pieces featured by Zuffi and am now studying the rest of Bonnard's cat paintings in chronological order.

Image credit WikiPaintings, Little Girl With a Cat, Pierre Bonnard, 1899, oil on canvas, held in a private collection

Just at a glance we learn a couple important things about this family due to the skilled work of Bonnard: the cat is female, as it obviously is a calico; it likes and wants to be petted, as evidenced by its "pet me!" head-down posture; the cat clearly trusts humans; and the corollary to the last--the little girl is gentle and loving with cats, as I've seen many families (mine included) where certain cats vanish whenever kids show up.

Bonnard with the strokes of his brush manages to not just render the image faithfully and warmly, he conveys subtle clues about this girl and her kitty to convey important information.  

But moreover, we find ourselves drawn in, thinking, almost involuntarily, and the words spring to mind: "Once upon a time, over a hundred years ago, there was a little girl with a cat...."

Such is the magic of good art.

  

Cats in Art: Sitting Woman With a Cat (Bonnard)

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

This is part 5 of 8 of a multiweek study of the cat art of Pierre Bonnard, a French painter (1867-1947). In this series I've moved beyond the two pieces featured by Zuffi and am now studying the rest of Bonnard's cat paintings in chronological order.

Image credit WikiPaintings, Sitting Woman With a Cat, Pierre Bonnard, 1898, oil on canvas, held in a private collection.

 

I just love the spare simplicity of this image.  The pensive woman, hands folded carefully on her lap, whose posture seem stiff and unrelaxed, seems to be pondering something with eyes closed.  Or, is observing the cat at play--one cannot tell.

The setting appears to be along a gravel path in a flower garden, but whose plants yield only foliage with no flowers.  I sense a tension between the carefree cat and the woman, whose demeanor seems anything but relaxed.

One has to wonder what restless thoughts she is thinking.

 

Cats in Art: The Lunch of the Little Ones (Bonnard)

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

This is part 4 of 8 of a multiweek study of the cat art of Pierre Bonnard, a French painter (1867-1947). In this series I've moved beyond the two pieces featured by Zuffi and am now studying the rest of Bonnard's cat paintings in chronological order.

Image credit WikiPaintings, The Lunch of the Little Ones, Pierre Bonnard, 1897, oil on panel, held by The Museum of Fine Arts of Nancy, France

Since this was not an image that Zuffi used, I'm the art critic again.

For me, the absolute best part of this painting is the title: Lunch of the Little Ones.  Which I take to include the feline little one on the right, whose form dominates the image when compared with the two human little ones.

There are some anomalies in the image, though: whose plate is sitting across the table from the cat?  And why the lamp directly in front of the cat, unless the point is to emphasize that the cat is an uninvited guest without a place setting.  And is that indistinct image in the upper left another cat, resting on the square tiles?

I do love this Bonnard painting!

Cats in Art: The White Cat (Bonnard)

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

This is part 3 of 8 of a multiweek study of the cat art of Pierre Bonnard, a French painter (1867-1947). In this series I've moved beyond the two pieces featured by Zuffi and am now studying the rest of Bonnard's cat paintings in chronological order.

 

Image credit WikiPaintings, The White Cat, Pierre Bonnard, 1894, oil on canvas, held by Musee d'Orsay, Paris, France.

 

Since I have no comments from Zuffi, I get to be the analyst/critic here.  Basically we have a disturbed cat, arching its back, almost rearing up, with flattened ears, and one can almost hear the "Hissssss!"

 

Although the muted yellows and browns are usually soothing, in this image they seem a bit foreboding in their role as a stark contrast to the highly agitated kitty. 

 

Bonnard captures quite well the agitation and anxiety of the poor cat.  One hopes that whatever riled it up soon passes. 

Cats in Art: Woman With a Cat (Bonnard)

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

This is part 2 of 8 of a multiweek study of the cat art of Pierre Bonnard, a French painter (1867-1947). In this series I will feature Bonnard's cat art both before and after this painting, which is one of his better known pieces.

This image is the second of two published by Zuffi, and dates from 1912:

Image credit National Gallery of Australia, Woman With a Cat, Pierre Bonnard, 1912, oil on canvas, 30" x 30", held by Musee d'Orsay, Paris, France

Zuffi comments:

The twentieth century boasts, right from its start, a large number of great artists who sincerely loved cats, but perhaps none had as much sensitivity and discretion as Bonnard.  For the French master, a delicate artist who took his cue from Impressionism, which he reinterpreted with lyrical intimacy, the cat is the animal to whom one confides the secrets of the heart: the cat is not a mysterious symbol or an elegant arabesque, nor a slightly disturbing presence, but a tender, discreet companion.  This painting, which in its balanced simplicity is rightly considered one of the painter's masterpieces, offers a subtle psychological interpretation of the relationship between a solitary young woman and a cat that appears at her side like a mute witness to her inner secrets.

Or in the case of one of our cats, a not-so-mute witness.  Ca Beere is a talker, as well as being a "face kitty" (fascinated with your face), and is alone among our felines in liking to have her belly rubbed.

Back to Bonnard--to me this painting is kinda haunting but in a non-threatening way.  I wonder what the girl is thinking, what the cat is thinking, what their lives were like, and what is really happening in this image.  The girl is looking straight out at the viewer, but the cat seems to be studying something off to its left.

The National Gallery of Australia site points out the usage of both circular and angular lines, and comments that the

...angle of the cat’s body, straightened foreleg and flattened ears suggests an animation lacking in the stillness of the woman’s body. Her slight lean towards the table and her steadying hand suggest she is waiting for something to happen.

So I guess that Bonnard succeeded in creating a lasting image that meaningfully persists in our world a hundred years later.

 

Cats in Art: Bourgeois Afternoon (Bonnard)

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

This is part 1 of 8 of a multiweek study of the cat art of Pierre Bonnard, a French painter (1867-1947).  In this series I will feature Bonnard's cat art both before and after this painting, which is one of his better known pieces.

This image is the first of two published by Zuffi, and dates from 1900.  I'll show the other (from 1912) next week: 

 

Image credit WikiPaintings, The Bourgeois Afternoon (or The Terrasse Family), Pierre Bonnard, 1900, oil on canvas, 54" x 83", held by Musee d'Orsay, Paris, France

 

 

Zuffi comments:

 

...three cats and a dog brighten the Terrasse family's country house; in their own way, they enjoy the sunshine and peace of  a Sunday afternoon in the company of members of the family, including numerous children, spanning three generations....One of these is certainly the cat, which unquestionably feels--and behaves--as if it were the true master of the house.  Fat, sated, and satisfied, ensconced on the cool grass, the cat is the only living thing in the painting that looks in our direction, establishing with the viewer a surprising and effective mode of communication.

 

 

All I can is, "Duh!"  Or in other words, Zuffi knows his cats: the gray and white feline truly owns the show here.

 

One other comment: from this image, it appears that Zuffi, or his editor, or translator, has made a mistake in counting animals: there are three dogs and one cat, not the other way around.

 

Note that I had previously done this Bonnard piece back in 2010, but I'm redoing it as part of my series study.  In that earlier post, I provided this quote:

 

In this detail from The Terrasse Family, the family cat enjoys a social afternoon with his humans.

 

Followed by my comment:

Actually, the humans are enjoying a social afternoon entertaining their cat.
 

 

Cats in Art: Cat

My continuing Sunday series on Cats in Art, with another Bonnard image.

Image and text credit here.  [1903, Pierre Bonnard, Cat, brush and ink]

In 1903, French artist Pierre Bonnard created a series of illustrations for Jules Renard's Histoires naturelles. This wry little cat is from that series.

My cats are all "wry little cats."  Well, maybe just the wry part--they mostly are fat.

 

Cats in Art: The Terrasse Family

My continuing Sunday series on Cats in Art.

Image and text credit here.  [1902-03, Pierre Bonnard, The Terrasse Family, oil on canvas]

Bonnard is better known for his paintings, some of which resemble the works of the Impressionists although there are many dissimilarities. He was one of the few painters at the turn of the century to include cats in his work.


In this detail from The Terrasse Family, the family cat enjoys a social afternoon with his humans.

Actually, the humans are enjoying a social afternoon entertaining their cat.