Cats in Art: The Swaddled Cat (Gerard and Fragonard)

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).

As you will see below, after some 5 weeks of Jean-Honore Fragonard art, this post is a bridge collaboration between Fragonard and his young sister-in-law, Marguerite Gerard.

Then I'll focus upon Marguerite Gerard in her own right over the ensuing several weeks.

Image credit Museum de Grasse, Marguerite Gerard, The Swaddled Cat, 1778, brown wash and black chalk, 17" x 14", held by Museum de Grasse, Grasse, Provence, France.

And the super cute kitty close-up:

Bugler tells us:

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.

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.

And from the Museum de Grasse web site:

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.  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.

My thoughts? Gerard--as a 16 year old--absolutely nailed the placid kitty's face.  Also, as an aside, when I googled The Swaddled Cat Gerard, I found the museum hit....but then pages of sites that tell you how to wrap up a scared kitty to keep it calm.


[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 First Steps (Fragonard)

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 will be the last of 5 posts on the cat art of Jean-Honore Fragonard.

Image credit The Athenaeum, The First Steps, Jean-Honore Fragonard, ca 1780, 18" x 22", oil on canvas, held by Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, Greater Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

And the kitty close-up:

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.

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.

And so this anonymous calico has achieved immortality.

And at last, late in his life, it appears that Fragonard finally learned how to paint a cat (see previous 4 posts!).

[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 Angora Cat (Fragonard)

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 will be the fourth of 5 posts on the cat art of Jean-Honore Fragonard.

Image credit The Athenaeum, The Angora Cat, Jean-Honore Fragonard, ca 1783, oil on canvas, 25" x 21", held by Wallraf-Richartz-Museum Fondation Corboud  (Germany - Cologne).

And the kitty close-up:

And the even closer close-up:

  
First off, this may well be another version of Fragonard's peculiar white kitty from the past several weeks, though the telltale cat face is turned away.  And try as I might, upon initial 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.

Ah, the limitations of the 2-dimensional printed page.  If only someone could describe the painting from real life....

Fortunately, we have such a description, from Wallraf Museum web site:

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. 

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.

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.  

But what my old eyes still can't quite make out in the reflection is the woman at an easel, and the pair of other people.  And the center of the ball still seems to reflect a 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.  

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 Cats in Art Tour and sell exclusive spaces.  I'm pretty sure I'll become very wealthy. 

Anyone interested (this is a serious question)?

[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: Girl Holding a Dog and Cat (Fragonard)

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 will be the third of 5 posts on the cat art of Jean-Honore Fragonard.

Image credit The Athenaeum, Girl Holding a Dog and Cat, Jean-Honore Fragonard, ca 1775, 27" x 27", oil on canvas, holder unspecified.

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.

The girl appears to be scientifically engrossed, as though she is conducting an animal behavior experiment.  Not surprisingly, the kitty seems to have the upper hand paw.  

[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!]