Cats in Art

The Favorite Cat
Source: The MET

The MET (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) recently posted a documentary called Metropolitan Cats on their YouTube channel. As the title suggests, the video celebrates the cats within the MET’s collection, from ancient sculptures to modern paintings. I was immediately drawn to the video because—as many people know—I adore cats (I have one myself, and I would love someone to paint a picture of her). I watched the documentary and found it to be both interesting and entertaining.

Metropolitan Cats documents the relationship between cats and humans as it is represented in art. It argues that cats have functioned as important symbols throughout history and that their feline grace and inscrutability has captured the human imagination. I don’t want to reiterate everything that was said in the documentary; if you want to see it, you can watch it here. However, I wanted to chime in on the significance of cats in art.

As Metropolitan Cats points out, cats have been present in art for literally thousands of years. So, what makes them such attractive subjects?

First of all, I would argue that cats are empirically beautiful. Felines have an aura of elegance that—in my opinion—is unmatched in the natural world. Their movements are sleek and graceful, and it’s easy to see why an artist might want to capture a cat in motion. Their large eyes and glossy, well-groomed fur also endear cats to humans, making them prime candidates for representation in art.

Aside from their outward appearance, I think that cats also attract humans on a subliminal level. Cats are mysterious and enigmatic, which, in turn, makes them endlessly intriguing to humans. If you’re anything like me, you’ll often see your cat doing something strange and think “why on Earth are they doing that?” Cats are solitary animals in the wild, meaning that they are naturally inclined to secrecy. This aloofness makes it difficult for humans to definitely interpret cats. While dogs are associated with loyalty and protectiveness, cats are more difficult to quantify. Throughout human history, cats have been associated with a diverse group of characteristics, including magic, rebirth, nobility, cunning, bad luck, witchcraft, laziness, independence, elegance, and curiosity.

This malleability makes them useful to artists. The symbolic meaning of a cat is nebulous enough to allow each individual artist to interpret the animal in their own way. The cat, thus, becomes a vehicle for the artist to express their own ideas and convey their thoughts. Cats, therefore, are a versatile means of creating meaning in art and literature, making them central to human culture. So, although each artist will understand cats differently, it is clear that they will remain enduring and important figures in the artistic world (much to my delight).