Cats in Art: Still Life With Putto and Rabbit (Kokoschka)

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 the second post on Oskar Kokoschka, who last week and this showed us some disturbing cats:

 

 

Image credit ALMA, here.  Still Life With Putto and Rabbit, Oskar Kokoschka, 1914, oil on canvas, size and owner unspecified.

 

The ALMA site offers the following analysis of this painting, at a time when the artist was reeling from his lover Alma's recent abortion.

 

In encoded form, Kokoschka attempted to get close to this event: in a mysterious, gloomy landscape, there sits in the foreground a cat, poised ready to pounce. Its head is turned back towards a rabbit sitting behind it, and with its gaze it has the little animal completely under its spell. Aside from this scene, a tiny male child cowers. The similarity between the portrait of the cat and Alma has repeatedly been raised. The identification with the child not carried to term makes the gestures which stress suffering and the oppressive power of the tree trunk become emblems of death. Alma has turned away from him, and her admonishing glance is intended solely for the rabbit. Thus, Still Life with Putto and Rabbit, bathed in an apocalyptic mood, already heralds the imminent end of the relationship.

 

So, is the aborted boy referred to as "Putto," or is that the name of the cat, or is it an endearing name for Alma?

 

Regardless, if the kitty is that of Oskar and Alma rather than just an allegorical symbol, I'd be questioning the wisdom of cat ownership.  To me, the cat looks almost malignant, with an evil smile of control and domination, like "I can take you out any time I feel like it." 

 

All in all, quite a disturbing image.

 

 

Cats in Art: Lovers With a Cat (Kokoschka)

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.

Image credit here. Lovers with a Cat, Oskar Kokoschka, 1919, oil on canvas, 36" x 51", held by Kunsthaus, Zurich, Switzerland.

Zuffi's observation:

His paintings--superficially blotched, aggressive, textured, and rich in material--reveal an intimate gentleness and a search for affection and love, as this splendid canvas clearly demonstrates.  The feelings and poses of the two lovers, who simultaneously embrace and elude each other, reach out and withdraw, are symbolically emphasized by the silent presence of the cat.

My thoughts?  The cat (who actually kinda looks like a terrier), seems eager--like the man--for the activities to commence.  Yet it almost seems like an afterthought for the painting, like Kokoschka thought, "Maybe I'll stick a cat over here in the left foreground."

Regardless, the painting is compelling--Kokoschka renders so well the conflicting emotions of the two people.  It would be great to actually see this image in person: I bet the textures and the depth of the paint would be amazing, a feature that just can never be captured in a two-dimensional print. 

That was the element that so blew me away the first time I ever saw a Van Gogh in person: how thickly he laid the paint on, fully 1/4" deep in places.