Cats & Dogs...

11:38 a.m.

30/04/18 - Some artists, true animal lovers, immortalized their pets in some of their artworks. Paul Klee (Switzerland, 1879-1940), for example, painted a very modern portrait of his favorite cat, but with very particular signs. Klee was known for using lines, shapes and colors according to his own perception and not to describe something real. This is why this cat has a bird in his head, not in front of it, but inside, as part of his thoughts. In fact Klee only draws the head, exposing sensations such as hunger, fantasy or desire, as coming from the brain of the animal. “It’s about making visible the secret visions”, he explained. Is this cat alert? Are we afraid of it? Or is he simply resting? The color palette is warm and simple, with pinks, browns and some greens. With a few simple lines he defined the face, eyes and even the bird. But the heart he placed as a nose can not go unnoticed... Is it a symbol of the cat's desire or does it represents Klee's love for his pet?

Cat and Bird, by Paul Klee (1928)

MoMA

David Hockney's muses were his two Dachshunds Stanley and Boodgie. It's known that the artist had several easels and canvases placed at different heights where his dogs would sleep, to be able to paint them while they rested. From 1995 he painted hundreds of portraits of his dogs that later gave birth to a book: David Hockney’s Dog Days. Today, another Dachshund, called Little Boodgie, is his loyal friend.

David Hockney: Dog Paintings (1995)

Picasso (Spain, 1881-1973) was also devoted to his Dachshund called Lump, the only one who could enter the artist's studio while he was working. From August 17th to December 30th, 1957, Picasso painted 44 studies recreating Diego Velazquez's “Las Meninas” and in 17 of them he included the dog. The series was later donated to the Museo Picasso in Barcelona.

Las Meninas, by Pablo Picasso (1957)

Technique: oil on canvas / Measures: 161 x 129 cm

Andy Warhol (USA, 1928-1987) also had two Dachshunds, Amos and Archie, and he included them in many paintings. In 1976, while painting a portrait of Peter Brant's pet, he decided to do an exhibition entirely dedicated to cats and dogs. Archie and Amos portraits were of course on display, obviously in Warhol's psychedelic colors.