During the 17th century, there were only a few women artists and only a few cats that would allow themselves to be painted. One artist, a Judith Leyster, who was a student of Franz Hal and painted his style, used one very reluctant kitten in a 1629 painting entitled “Laughing Children With Cat.” Perhaps the most famous depiction of a feline from this period comes from Rembrandt’s etching, “Virgin and Child With Cat.” This work of art is considered a masterpiece that set a standard for all intimate views of maternity depicted by artists in subsequent centuries. Dutch artist, Jan Steen, painted a rather undignified portrait of a family teaching its cat to dance. (“The Cat’s Dancing Lesson.”) Although the humans in the painting appear quite amused by the activities, it is clear that the poor little tuxedo cat is not!
Although the cat was certainly accepted as a domestic companion in the 18th century, public abuse of animals was not uncommon. Artist, William Hogarth, an animal lover himself, did a series of engravings, “The Four Stages of Cruelty,” which illustrated this far too aptly. Franceso Goya and Renoir both depicted cats in their portraiture. In the late 19th century, lithography emerged as a favorite medium, and the cat was often depicted on advertising posters for milk and other products. Many of these were executed by Theophile-Alexandre Steinlien, who was well known for his illustrations of cats.
Pablo Picasso and Marc Chagall both used cats; for Picasso in his “Circus Period” the cat is a symbol of affection, for Chagall cats are more dreamlike and seem to sit on reality’s cold edge. Picasso also used the cat as a political symbol during the Spanish Civil War.
The cat continues to fascinate the creative spirit of man. Could he care less?
What do YOU think?
Related Articles:
“The Cat In Art: The Ancient World To 1600″
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