Cats in Art: The Stray Kitten (Collins)

From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art.  Having moved on from Stefano Zuffi's marvelous work, The Cat in Art, I am now using some ideas from Caroline Bugler's equally impressive book, The Cat/3500 Years of the Cat in Art.  You really should check out and/or own both of these wonderful works, easily available on Amazon or eBay (and I have no financial interest).

This is the second of a pair of images from William Collins.

Image credit WikiArt, The Stray Kitten, William Collins, early 1800s, oil on canvas, dimensions unspecified, held by the Victoria and Albert Museum.

And the kitty close-up:

If you recall last week's feature--A Kitten Deceived--you'll notice the similarities: sunlight streaming from the left, happy family members over to the right, the kitty centrally featured.  The main difference is overall tone: whereas this image features a warm, brownish-yellow cast, last week's image was decidedly green.

And today's kitty just seems more sharply defined, with its black-and-white coloration, as opposed to the previous calico.

And I especially like how the sunlight copiously illuminates both the kitten and the family members trying to coax it closer.  One must believe that the kitten will cave and commit to  the humans.  Warmth, love, and trust all seem in ample supply in this decidedly upbeat painting.


[Gary note: With my Cats in Arts posts, I encourage you to scope out the art appreciation site Artsy (I have no financial interest in the site, I just like it), where you can explore many aspects of the world of art.  You'll certainly be entertained and enlightened!]