Cats and human history – as explained by Els Vink
Cats were consid
ered a magic animal in many cultures, like Egypt and others. your cat is a descendant of that sacred and magical animal in human history.
Els Vink, a superb painter living in Italy, is inspired by the history of cats and shares with you here her take on this topic:
Our Cat ‘Pussar’
This wonderful tiny female cat was born in Denmark, her name means ‘sweetheart’. We adopted her, together with her brother, a red tom-cat in 2003 when we lived in Copenhagen. They were absolutely adorable, both very easy-going, lovely caracters, always playing together and so incredibly trusting – we could go out on the street and they would simply follow us: tales up!
When some two years later we had to move to Spain, something terrible happened. Just one month before departure, the brother called Thor (the Viking God) disappeared. We tried everything to find him, but to no avail. Perhaps he was caught by a fox, we had many around in our neighbourhood at the time. One will never know. I was heart broken.
Pussar moved to Barcelona with us, and after that, to Italy. Being a cat from the north, she can’t take the summer’s heat too well. It gives her all sorts of skin problems, lots of itching, you can tell by her behaviour she’s not at her best. Ah, but when winter comes…she always climbs on our lap, loud purring. She is a fantastic ‘mouser’ too! Keeps our house in the country mice and rat-free.
Cats in Art
We love our cats (and dogs!) All through the ages of mankind they have been our companions. This is often reflected in art. In Egypt 3000 BC, when the cat was highly respected and revered, they even mummified them after they died, to ensure an eternal afterlife.
In the Middle Ages the cat did not have such a good name. They associated the animal with witchcraft and the devil.
Leonardo Da Vinci, “cat drawings”, 1513, Royal Library of Windsor, Royal Collection Trust
Thankfully, after this dark period the cat is back on its pedestal, and is depicted in many glorious ways!
Leonardo da Vinci, who said that “even the smallest of cats is a masterpiece” (16th century) left this drawing study of cats.
The cat spread from Egypt to Europe, the Greek and the Romans brought them over to help battle with their rodent problem.
Judith Leyster, “young boy petting a cat”, 1635, Museumlandschaft Hessen Kassel.
Judith Leyster, painted “a young man petting a cat” in the 17th century. A time when cats were indispensable on the ships sailing to the new world and the
east.
In China, the cat was in the beginning only for the Emperor. Later also for the nobility and much later also for the common people.
In the 19th century, one cannot miss out the paintings of Henriëtte Ronner-Knip. She was very trendy in her time, when it was very hip to have a cat painting in your ‘salon’
Pablo Picasso, “cat catching a bird”, 1939, pablopicasso.org
Pablo Picasso made “Cat with catched bird” in the 20th century. In our contemporary times, this fascinating creature is still a source of inspiration for many an artist.
Calvi dell’Umbria, September 2016 Els Vink
More Photos of CATS IN ART
. Gericault, “Dead cat”, 1820, Louvre Paris
Henriëtte Ronner Knip, “Tea time”
Dancing cats: artist unknown
FatCatArt.
painting by Paul Gaugin
It came out well, Els! It’s quite amazing how cats have been seen in different times and different places. Even now people have widely (and wildly!) diverging opinions of these fascinating creatures who have taught me so much about life…and death!
Very interesting history lesson! I wish all history was that interesting! “Even the smallest of cats is a masterpiece”. Is a wonderful quote. I love cats. I got one from the Humane Society when I was 5. I named him Mittens (Mitty for short). Unfortunately, I developed terrible allergies when I was 18 (Mittens had passed many years prior). I have never been able to be around cats since. It is so sad. I would love to have one again.
Hi Sandra, I agree that animals are a masterpiece of nature – and often also in art. Growing with a cat is certainly a wonderful experience for a child – which I didn’t have, but I got to love them later in life.
You unfortunately got an allergy against cat hair. You are a ferrel lover. Is their fur different regarding allergies? Thanks for answering, I am curious!
I’m going to have to paint some cats for your site!
Hey Kimberly, YES, please do paint and send me the photos to publish!
The role of cats through history has always interested me. I was actually in the British Museum last Friday as I wanted to see the Egyptian displays. Cats were revered so much in that time especially when Bast (who was depicted as half female half cat) became a popular goddess (as most gods and goddesses in Egypt were not always revered as they went out of fashion).
During Bast’s time it did become unlawful to harm a cat and killing a cat could result in the death penalty. Though some of the mummified cats have been found with neck trauma it seems as though it was possible that priests could kill cats (with probably the correct prayers and rituals) maybe to keep the cat population in check. They were then mummified and honored.
Extremely fascinating
Hi Evie! Thank you so much for adding your knowledge about the Egyptian cats to this article. When I feel into my own cats I can resonate with the idea of the sacredness of these superb beings. At the end, all living beings are sacred, but cats emanate this majesty. So no wonder that they were considered as God-like.
Maybe, for that, cats were sacrificed in temples? You suggest that priests might have been allowed to kill cats. Why would they do that if not for sacred reasons?
Cats are divine in more sense than one. I have a book by Stefano Zuffi called Gatti nell’Arte which proves how artists have been fascinated by these creatures.
If I were an artist I certainly would paint cats. They have such a dignity and expression and graciousness in their movements and posture! Thanks for commenting, Ella!
Hi Heidi,
You have beautiful images of cats, I love them.
In our culture, Philippines, when we don’t have rain, my grandma will bathe the cat and a few hours afterwards, it will rain. Cats is our mighty defender against rats as our house is in the middle of the forest.
Thank you for many information about cats.
Yes, NRosales, cats are not only beautiful creatures, but also very useful. Their job in the past was to catch mice and that allowed them to be close to humans. What I love in them is the fact, that they have their own spirit, they can never be dominated by humans. It is very astonishing that your grandma was able to bathe a cat! Apart from the magical effect it seemed to have, it is very unusual that you can do it without getting wounded by their sharp claws!
Hi Heidi,
I adore cats and have three of my own now and a few others in the past. I have been seeing videos lately of wild cats like lynx (not in the wild, but wild species vs. house cats). These cats react exactly the same as our cats to pets, cheek scratches and attention. They purr, meow and head butt just like a small domestic cat! It is quite amazing.
Of course these cats have probably been raised around people so this would not happen with an adult animal taken out of the wild. However, it shows that these behaviors we take for granted in our domestic cats are left over from their ancestors and nothing to do with domestication at all!
It is said that cats are not truly domesticated like dogs. A cat can function and take care of itself in wild still. It can hunt (only if it was trained by it’s mother) and survive. So, we basically have wild animals living with us and sharing our lives! How neat is that!
Most dogs can’t survive well on their own anymore unless they live in a populated area where they can scavenge garbage and leftovers from humans. They have been domesticated to the point they are no longer wild. I think there are a few exceptions with breeds who are still great hunters.
I just find it fascinating that cats are wild animals that we get to share our lives with!
I love your site and the history here!
Hu Jessica,
What you write is really very interesting. Would you mind to share the video? I would love to see it.
I totally agree that cats are much “wilder” than dogs and that they could survive without us with no particular problem. Domesticating cats in the sense of what we know from dogs is totally impossible. On the other hand that is exactly what I find fascinating with cats. They remain their own personality and not really succumb to humans and we have to figure out how to gain their trust and go along with them. This allows us to think a little about our inclination to dominate others and to find different ways of co-existence.
I love my dog, too. But I find cats more difficult – and fascinating. My present challenge: How to administer a cat his daily injection without being bitten or scratched to blood…