Cats in Art: A Girl Holding a Cat (Mercier)

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).

Image credit Art UK, A Girl Holding a Cat, Philippe Mercier, ca 1750, oil on canvas, 36" x 28", held by National Galleries of Scotland, Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland

And the close-up of the little black kitty, with the girl thrown in for good measure, since her face is also of interest:

I am totally smitten with this little cat, who obviously is still a kitten (perhaps because we have a petite all-black cat as well, interestingly named Ca Beere, whose heart and personality are off the scale).  

Mercier captures perfectly the facial expression of this kitten: one of eager anticipation.  The cat is up for anything: being held by the girl is OK (for now!), but as soon as something better pops up, the kitty will be gone.  I also love the girl's expression, one of calm happiness, holding a favorite pet.  

As with the kitty's face, Mercier really gets this girl's face right as well.  Faces are tough, and from perusing numerous other Mercier paintings, in which he either paints young people with adult faces or renders them woodenly and unlifelike, he is on his game here.  Perhaps it was years of practice, as this painting was done near the end of his life, when Mercier was about 60 (he lived to be 71).

[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: A Sense of Touch (Mercier)

Late post today.

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).

Image credit Yale Center for British Art, A Sense of Touch, Philippe Mercier, ca 1744, oil on canvas, 52" x 60", held by Paul Mellon Collection at Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT.

And here's the kitty close-up:

Not a sense of a relaxed cat at all.  "Pissed" is the only word that applies.  Mercier pretty much nails it here.

Bugler's comments:

The tabby cat is at the very centre of this painting, an allegory on the sense of touch, and is central to its meaning, too.  Just as the human hands stretch out to touch or express emotion, so the cat's paws are extended, its claws unsheathed.  It appears to have scratched the man on the left, who is sucking his hand.  As the man is the foreground embraces his sweetheart, so the child is reaching out to stroke the cat's fur.

My take?  This is a reasonably friendly kitty who finds itself in over its head.  Too many humans in the vicinity, surrounding me.  Better lash out and let them know who really is in charge!

Of the five humans, the guy on the far left got bitten and his lady friend is comforting him.  Their interaction with the kitty is now nil.  Over on the right, the joker in the red is forcing himself on his lady friend, who seems less than excited about his romantic moves (she probably ditches him soon).  Likewise, their interaction with the kitty is now also nil.

So scratch (play on words!) the 4 adults. That leaves the little girl, who seems to me to be about 3  years of age (I know such things, having numerous female descendants).  Look at the expression on her face: delight and perhaps a bit of trepidation.  She so wants to touch that kitty but she just saw the guy on the left get nailed.  Let's hope she has a soothing, gentle touch with the cat, which I can say with authority, is a tough prospect for a 3-year old.  Or else she's gonna also fall prey to those sharp claws!

[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: Cat and Kitten (Sir Edward Burne-Jones)

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).

Image credit The Atheneum, Cat and Kitten, Sir Edward Burne-Jones, early 1890s, watercolor on plaster, 14" x 16", held in a private collection.

Bugler tells us:

Burne-Jones' granddaughter Angela recalled that the artist painted a series of scenes for her on the walls of the nursery where she slept when staying with her grandparents at their home in Rottingham, Sussex.  As a young girl, she would be made to stand in the corner of the room if she disobeyed her nanny's rules....the sight of her so dismayed her grandfather that "the very next day he took his paintbox into my corner and painted a cat and a kitten playing with its mother's tail, and a flight of birds, so that I might never be unhappy or without company in my corner again."

I tend to rail on sometimes about how precious artworks should be in museums for all to see, rather than in private collections.  But in this case I make an exception, for the painting is literally on (as in painted on, not hanging) the wall of a private residence.  Hopefully the home still belongs to the descendants of Sir Edward Burne-Jones and the watercolor is still making children happy to this day.

[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 Stray Kitten (Collins)

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).

This is the second of a pair of images from William Collins.

Image credit WikiArt, The Stray Kitten, William Collins, early 1800s, oil on canvas, dimensions unspecified, held by the Victoria and Albert Museum.

And the kitty close-up:

If you recall last week's feature--A Kitten Deceived--you'll notice the similarities: sunlight streaming from the left, happy family members over to the right, the kitty centrally featured.  The main difference is overall tone: whereas this image features a warm, brownish-yellow cast, last week's image was decidedly green.

And today's kitty just seems more sharply defined, with its black-and-white coloration, as opposed to the previous calico.

And I especially like how the sunlight copiously illuminates both the kitten and the family members trying to coax it closer.  One must believe that the kitten will cave and commit to  the humans.  Warmth, love, and trust all seem in ample supply in this decidedly upbeat painting.


[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!]