Did Vincent van Gogh have a cat?
Today is a good day to ask whether Vincent van Gogh had a cat because on this day in 1890, Vincent van Gogh shot himself once in the chest. He was aged 37 and it took him two days to … Continue reading →
Tag Archives: cats in paintings
Girl with a Kitten by Lucian Freud
From time to time I like to write about cats in paintings. This is one by Lucian Freud which he completed between 1948 and 1949. The painting shows Kitty Garman (1926-2011) holding a cat. Freud was married to Kitty between … Continue reading →
Street artist paints illusion of Sphynx cat on old gas tank
A very impressive work of art. For me there are two things that make it work so well. Firstly the artist, Tom Bragado Blanco from Marseille, France, paints the landscape behind the gas tank onto the gas tank as well … Continue reading →
Pictures of cats as accessories 1896-2014
Two illustrations of cats as accessories 1896-2014. Cats represent women and women sometimes see cats as babies (as do men).
Continue reading →The sex symbolism behind the cat in Hockney’s Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy
The all-white cat gazing out of the balcony doors to the exterior, in David Hockney’s painting Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy, is sitting on Mr Clark’s lap in a peculiar and uncomfortable way. The cat is meant to be … Continue reading →
Édouard Manet loved cats and many of his letters have small sketches of cats
This is a little bit of cat trivia. It is not going to change the world but it is quite interesting nonetheless to people who like cats. Édouard Manet, a French modernist painter of the 19th century, was ‘a pivotal … Continue reading →
Domestic cat teased by Christ’s suffering as symbolised by a goldfinch
It’d be interesting if someone could try and untangle the interpretation of this 16th century religious painting by Barocci containing a domestic cat. It is called ‘The Madonna of the Cat’ (La Madonna del Gatto). Please click on the image … Continue reading →
Loyal cat kept prisoner company in the Tower of London for 2 years
Trixie was her name; quite a modern name for cat who kept her owner company in the Tower of London from 1601-1603. Trixie belonged to the Third Earl of Southampton, Henry Wriothesley. Queen Elizabeth I imprisoned him we are told. … Continue reading →
Mediaeval cat paintings: ugly anthropomorphized depictions
I’ve seen this before. It appears that painters in mediaeval times had a compulsion to depict both domestic and wild cats with human faces. Not only that, the faces are ugly. Almost every painting looks like a cat cartoon and … Continue reading →
Boucher La Toilette
This painting, La Toilette by François Boucher (1703–1770), has a cat in it – of course! The appearance of the cat is interesting to me. But first a bit about the painting. Boucher La Toilette François Boucher was French (born … Continue reading →