The Cat in Art

by Stefano Zuffi

Book Overview

Almost from the beginning of art, humans have portrayed cats. The animal originally domesticated for the humble purpose of catching mice was already a goddess in ancient Egypt and a beloved household... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0810993287
• ISBN13: 9780810993280
• Release Date: April 2007
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
• Length: 360 Pages
• Weight: 4.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 9.2" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

cat art

This is a great book of cat art. the pictures are beautiful. The book was like new

Great gift for a cat lover!

This book covers cats in art from Egyptian to modern times. Lovely color photos with a history of the paintings or sculptures. A very well done art book for cat fanciers!

Outstanding and well written

This books is a "must" for every art historian, collector, or any one who simply loves art and/or cats. Well researched and well written.

FOR CAT LOVERS AND ART AFICIONADOS

Who can resist a soft, furry, inscrutable, playful, endearing cat? Not many. Especially not artists throughout the ages whose works have been gathered in this fascinating volume by art historian Stefano Zuffi. He describes the cat's important place in culture and art, literature and fable as follows:" True to its nature, it rarely emerges as a protagonist: more often than not, we must look closely to detect its presence. However, this presence, especially in painting, is never a banal one. It has been given a rich variety of symbolic meanings, so much so that we can almost read them across centuries of masterpieces - a sort of history of art with whiskers and a tail, full of surprises." Thus begins our journey with the cat from antiquity and the Egyptian Goddess Bastet to the modern feline as found in contemporary portrayals. In the Middle Ages we sometimes find the timeless game of cat and mouse as carved in French cathedral choir stalls or in the Lutrell Psalter, an illuminated manuscript now seen in London's British Library. Later we find the cat in paintings by such beloved artists as Annibale Carracci, Tintoretto, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Jan Van Eyck. The latter places him at the birth of John the Baptist, while a drawing by Da Vinci offers numerous studies of cats. Richly illustrated with over 250 color images "The Cat In Art" is a sumptuous volume chronicling the works of artists who have been entranced by this affecting creature. - Gail Cooke

An illustrated portrait of the cat in society

I have to admit, I know this book from its French edition, that I acquired at the Louvre in Paris. But assuming the English version stays true to the version I have (it was originally written in Italian), then this is a thoroughly enjoyable volume. More than just another book of cute pictures of cats (which is not to say that's a bad thing) this book is actually an overview of the changing place of the cat in society, as demonstrated by the leading artists of the day. An engaging study in changing iconography, we can trace how the cat changed from devil's "familiar" in the Middle Ages to the protector of the home (by killing rats and mice) as shown in beautifuly reproduced works of art from the world's major museums. Zuffi is an engaging writer and scholar who has provided us with a lvoely and entertaining portrait of the cat.