Cats in Art Timeline

By Cristina Berna and Eric Thomsen

During our research about the Spanish painter Joaquín Sorolla (born in Valencia 1863 - died in Cercedilla 1923) we came across a wonderful painting of his wife with a cat and a dog, Clotilde y gato y perro, from 1910.
As animal lovers the idea arose to see, how cats were portrayed in painting around the period of Sorolla. Earlier painters had struggled with getting the proportions right, especially the faces but there was a huge development of talent in Europe in the 19th century.
It proved to be a very rewarding tour of both Europe, Asia and USA. Cats is a great subject and it is impossible to cover Cats in Art in just one short volume. It would make a great exhibition!
Nevertheless, we hope that you will enjoy the selection and the masterful skills and talent of these great artists!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Books on Demand
• Release date: Sep 13, 2023
• ISBN: 9783756872947

Cristina Berna

Cristina Berna liebt das Fotografieren und Schreiben. Sie schreibt, um ein vielfältiges Publikum zu unterhalten.

Book preview

About the authors

Cristina Berna loves photographing and writing. She also creates designs and advice on fashion and styling.

Eric Thomsen has published in science, economics and law, created exhibitions and arranged concerts.

Also by the authors:

World of Cakes

Luxembourg – a piece of cake

Florida Cakes

Catalan Pastis – Catalonian Cakes

Andalucian Delight

World of Art

Hokusai – 36 Views of Mt Fuji

Hiroshige 69 Stations of the Nakasendō

Hiroshige 53 Stations of the Tōkaidō

Hiroshige 100 Famous Views of Edo

Hiroshige Famous Vies of the Sixty-Odd Provinces

Hiroshige 36 Views of Mt Fuji 1852

Hiroshige 36 Views of Mt Fuji 1858

Joaquin Sorolla Landscapes

Joaquin Sorolla Beach

Joaquin Sorolla Animals

Joaquin Sorolla Family

Joaquin Sorolla Nudes

Joaquin Sorolla Boats

Joaquin Sorolla Portraits

and more titles

Outpets

Deer in Dyrehaven – Outpets in Denmark

Florida Outpets

Birds of Play

Christmas Nativity

Christmas Nativity – Spain

Christmas Nativity Hallstatt

Christmas Nativity Salzburg

Christmas Nativity Slovenia

and more titles

Christmas Markets

Christmas Market Vienna

Christmas Market Salzburg

Christmas Market Slovenia

and more titles

Missy’s Clan

Missy’s Clan – The Beginning

Missy’s Clan – Christmas

Missy’s Clan – Education

Missy’s Clan – Kittens

Missy’s Clan – Deer Friends

and more titles

Contact the authors

[e-mail]

Published by www.missysclan.net

Cover picture:

Front: Magdaleine Pinceloup de la Grange, née de Parselval 1747, Jean-Baptiste Perronneau 1715 – 1783, J Paul Getty Museum

Inside: Painting of Cats and Sparrows, Byeon Sangbyeok 1730 Joseon Dynasty , National Museum of Korea

Content

Introduction

Mao Yi 12th century Chinese painter

Francesco Bacchiacca 1494 – 1557

Jan Miense Molenaer 1609-1668

Judith Leyster 1609 – 1661

Nicolaes Maes 1634 – 1693

Dirk Valckenburg 1675 – 1721

Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin 1699 – 1779

Unknown artist, 18th century China

Zhu Ling 18th century

Jakob Samuel Beck 1715 – 1778

Jean-Baptiste Perronneau 1715 – 1783

Byeon Sangbyeok 1730

Yongzheng 1732

Katsushika Hokusai 1760 – 1849

Marguerite Gérard 1761 – 1837 and Jean-Honoré Fragonard 1732 – 1806

Jacques-Laurent Agasse 1767 – 1849

Hiroshige Utagawa 1797 – 1858

Hermann Anschütz - 1880

Henriette Ronner-Knip 1821-1909

Louis Eugéne Lambert 1825 – 1900

John Everett Millais 1829 – 1896

Rudolf Epp 1834 – 1910

Auguste Ludwig, 1834 - 1909

George Dunlop Leslie 1835 – 1925

John Henry Dolph 1835 – 1903

Julius Geertz 1837 – 1902

John Charlton 1849 - 1917

Pierre Carrier-Belleuse 1851 – 1932

Carl Larsson 1853 – 1919

Max Nonnonbruch 1857 – 1922

Bruno Liljefors 1860 – 1939

Anders Zorn 1860 – 1921

Joaquín Sorolla 1863 – 1923

Gustav Vermehren 1863 – 1931

Pierre Bonnard 1867 – 1947

Konrad Krzyžanowski 1872 – 1922

Arthur Heyer 1872 - 1931

Kalighat picture1875

Gwen John 1876 – 1939

Ohara Matao 1877 – 1945

Boris Kustodiev 1878 – 1927

Franz Marc 1880 – 1916

Yumeji Takehisa 1884 – 1934

Paul Bransom 1885 – 1979

Ludwig ten Hompel 1887 – 1932

References

Photo credits

Introduction

During our research about the Spanish painter Joaquín Sorolla (born in Valencia 1863 - died in Cercedilla 1923) we came across a wonderful painting of his wife with a cat and a dog, Clotilde y gato y perro, from 1910.

As animal lovers the idea arose to see, how cats were portrayed in painting around the period of Sorolla. Earlier painters had struggled with getting the proportions right, especially the faces but there was a huge development of talent in Europe in the 19th century.

It proved to be a very rewarding tour of both Europe, Asia and USA. Cats is a great subject and it is impossible to cover Cats in Art in just one short volume. It would make a great exhibition!

Nevertheless, we hope that you will enjoy the selection and the masterful skills and talent of these great artists!

Cristina and Eric

Cat with kittens in a garden 12th century China

中中文文: 《蜀葵遊貓圖》中中文文: 12世紀

Mao Yi 12th century Chinese painter, Ink with color

Height: 25.5 cm Width: 25.8 cm 絹彩

Museum of Japanese Art, Osaka, Image: File Upload Bot

This is the earliest painting of cats in the selection, already from 12th century Chinese painter Mao Yi. The cat to the left has a good posture, but the head is off, like a convention for painting animal heads, see Hokusai’s Tiger in Snow below.

Cat with kittens in a garden (detail)

Cat with kittens in a garden (detail)

The cat and kitten to the right look more like dogs.

The visual arts during the Song dynasty were heightened by new developments such as advances in landscape and portrait painting. The gentry elite engaged in the arts as accepted pastimes of the cultured scholar-official, including painting, composing poetry, and writing calligraphy.

The Song dynasty (Chinese: 宋朝; pinyin: Sòng cháo; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The Song dynasty was an era of administrative sophistication and complex social organization.

Some of the largest cities in the world were found in China during this period (Kaifeng and Hangzhou had populations of over one million). People enjoyed various social clubs and entertainment in the cities, and there were many schools and temples to provide the people with education and religious services. Although the Song dynasty was able to hold back the Northern Jin, a new foe came to power over the steppe, deserts, and plains North of the Jin dynasty. The Mongols, led by Genghis Khan (r. 1206–1227), initially invaded the Jin dynasty in 1205 and 1209, engaging in large raids across its borders, and in 1211 an enormous Mongol army was assembled to invade the Jin. The Jin dynasty was forced to submit and pay tribute to the Mongols as vassals. In the Battle of Yamen, the Yuan army crushed the Song.

Portrait of a young lady holding a cat

c 1525-1530, oil on canvas, Height 53.6 cm Width: 43.8 cm

Francesco Bacchiacca 1494 – 1557, sold by Christie’s 30 Jan 2013 image: Austriacus

In this period the artists are, although technically very good, not yet able to show a cat as a cat.

Compare to the brilliant rendition by Agasse below, and you see there is something wrong with this cat’s face. Cats did not change that much in 300 years. The cat face has wrong proportions.

Francesco Bacchiacca 1494 – 1557 was also known as Antonio d’Ubertino Verdi. He was an Italian painter of the Renaissance (14th – 17th century) working in the Florentine Mannerist style. In High Renaissance art emphasized proportion, balance, and ideal beauty, where Mannerism exaggerates such