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: Lion Biting Some Guy's Ass at Versailles (sculptor TBD)

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 waaaaay better--less crowded, could get closer to the paintings, more cats.  Much more on those kitties in the weeks to come.

But first, this post shows a rather unusual outdoor sculpture on the garden grounds of the Palace of Versailles.  The bride and I had walked out back to see the famous sculpture of Apollo where he comes roaring out of the water on his chariot (I'll include a photo of it at the bottom just as a bonus, regrettably sans chats)

Then we came upon this rather interesting outdoor work:

Now a tad closer....

And finally the kitty close-up:

Image credit Gary, on my iPhone.  The sculpture is at least full-sized, if not slightly larger.  This day was our only instance of rain on the trip, so I passed on photographing the statue's title plate to stay dry (the umbrellas were, of course, on the bus).  

Upon our return to the U.S. I did a quickie search to try to find the sculptor and title--and failed--so I'll keep trying so I can give proper credit, which is important to me.

At any rate, the message of the sculpture is quite clear: this guy was clearly out of line in some manner; one had better behave, for one never knows when a cat may even the scales justice by biting some deserving miscreant in the ass.  

No worries for the general population, for cats will strike solely in the case of misbehavior (for cats are nothing if not scrupulously fair).  Believe me.

Now the bonus huge Apollo sculpture.  No kitties, just pure, beautiful art:

[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: Mimi and Her Cat (Gauguin)

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 series of posts on the art of Paul Gauguin.

Image credit Gauguin Gallery, Mimi and Her Cat, Paul Gauguin, 1890, gouache on cardboard, approx 7" square, held in a private collection.

No need for a kitty close-up here: despite the tiny original dimensions, this reproduced image is large and bold.  Unfortunately, I could uncover no other information about young Mimi or the cat.  Mimi may be one of the eight Gauguin children, perhaps short for the eldest son Emile...except that the title of the painting is Mimi and Her Cat.  Perhaps this is the child of a Gauguin family friend?

This feline is obviously a good kitty, given the fact that it is eating up the attention of a small child...which is rather exceptional cat behavior.

Also I note that this tiny painting is held in a private collection.  At the risk of sounding like Indiana Jones, wouldn't it be nice of it were in a museum where the whole world could enjoy it?

[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!]