As someone with a thorough education in art history, it has always been a pleasure for me to stumble upon portraits of cats. It’s nice to know that before cameras were invented, artists were really out there trying to capture the majesty of our feline companions. In fact, you may recall from a previous article about one heroic kitty named Zarathustra who has taken to Photoshop to improve on classic favorites by superimposing himself into them. So let’s get right to it, and discuss some famous paintings with cats already in them!

My Wife’s Lovers

When it comes to paintings of cats, none can hold a candle to the sheer magnificence of My Wife’s Lovers by Carl Kahler. What’s better than a painting of one cat? Why, a painting of two cats, of course. And if that really sounds good, how about a painting of (drumroll please) FORTY-TWO cats? That’s right, this masterpiece contains within its boundaries a whopping forty-two felines, and the story behind this painting gets better:

For starters, this painting is huge. I mean, it’s like, really huge. Standing at 6 feet by 8.5 feet, this glorious contribution to the art world could probably fit on one entire wall of a 6 million dollar New York apartment (aye, get it? ‘Cuz New York is uh, really expensive? Ahh it’s fine, it’s fine.) Secondly, this wondrous work was commissioned by Kate Birdsall Johnson, a fancy shmancy millionaire lady who, over the course of her lifetime, owned up to 350 cats (what an absolute cat lady icon). Her husband came up with the title, aptly so.

Now, up until this commission, Kahler hadn’t had much experience painting cats. However, he wanted to do these kitties justice (we salute you, Carl Kahler). Thus, he spent three whole years studying each of his forty-two muses (mew-ses?) in order to truly understand not only their individual physicalities, but their idiosyncrasies and personalities as well.

Unfortunately, this painting is no longer on display. In 2015, it was sold to a private buyer who purchased the piece for $826,000. Ah, well, we might still imagine it’s splendor all the same.

The Mediterranean Cat

For whatever reason, cats and surrealism just seem to go together. Many Surrealist painters including Salvador Dali himself have made works of art which feature our kitty familiars. One other such Surrealist painter by the name of Balthus used feline imagery in many of his works. The Mediterranean Cat is one of them, depicting a human-like creature with the head of a cat about to sit at a table which is set with wine and fish. Stefano Zuffi analyzes the painting as such:

“In the art of Balthus, the cat always fosters a great sense of ambiguity and tension.  In Mediterranean Cat, this French artist of Polish origin seems to realize one of the cat’s dreams: not having to make an effort to obtain food.  From a rainbow over the sea, the lavish meal that the ravenous man-cat is preparing to devour descends directly onto the set table; a gigantic lobster is already on the tray.  The crystalline purity of the geometric forms and the rarefied light that permeates the surfaces bears witness to Balthus’ passion for Italian Renaissance painting.”

Balthus, a controversial figure in art history, features cats in many of his works – even in his self portrait entitled The King of Cats. Many of his other works have little cats hidden in them as well, making them a treat to find. If something is worth painting, it’s worth adding a cat!

Le Chat Noir

Perhaps one of the most famous cat paintings, Le Chat Noir (French for The Black Cat) by Theophile Steinlen is as simplistic as it is ubiquitous. This artwork was a poster design for Le Chat Noir entertainment establishment in Paris, 1896. Once it opened, this little cabaret began drawing more and more crowds, and eventually became a second home to poets, artists, and musicians.

Steinlen himself was a noted cat-lover, and featured cats in many of his artworks. For those of you who have read my previous article about Amsterdam, many of Steinlen’s original lithographs are on display at De Kattenkabinet museum. It’s definitely worth it to see them in person!

Le Chat Blanc

Okay, so you’ve heard of black French cats, now get ready for: are you ready for this? White French cats. One fateful day in 1894, Pierre Bonnard was like, “you know what? I’m gonna try painting a cat.”

A Post-Impressionist who mainly painted such things as landscapes and interiors, Bonnard really got buck wild that day and thought he’d give painting cats the ol’ college try. And honestly? He nailed it. To describe it best, the Musee d’Orsay’s description reads: “Here, Bonnard uses distortion to create a humorous image of this cat arching its back. A strange animal, exaggeratedly arched on its paws, with its head drawn down into its shoulders, eyes like slits and a cunning expression.” Does he remind you of anyone? Say, Smudge the cat from the yelling lady meme? What can I say, life imitates art.

Please, friends, do yourself a favor and look this gem up, because it is utterly fantastic. It is so soothing to the soul to know that cat memes predate computers. And honestly, who is really surprised?

And finally, if you’re into bizarre paintings of cats, treat yourself and just Google “medieval cat paintings”. You can see for yourself the cornucopia of fantastical beasts found therein!