Historical Dog and Cat Paintings from Around The Globe

This blog was inspired by research for another blog, and I thought it would be good to show a few cat and dog paintings from different countries and different times. There were so many to choose from, and I tried to find ones that, even if the cat or dog isn’t the main subject, at least it’s not a tiny part of the painting.

Not a lot of writing in this one - it’s purely a feast for the eyes.

England

A Distinguished Member of the Humane Society by Sir Edwin Henry Landseer

Spitz Dog, by Thomas Gainsborough

Dutch/Belgian

Cat Resting by Henriette Ronner-Knip

Self-Portrait in Oriental Attire with Poodle by Rembrandt Van Rijn

The Large Cat, 1657, Engraving by Cornellis Visscher

France

Raminou Sitting on a Cloth, 1920, Suzanne Valadon

The Dog by Jean Baptiste Oudry

Tama The Japanese Dog, 1876 by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Italy

Bambina con gatto by Antonio Rotta

Austria

Mädchen mit Katze, by George Teibler

Russia

Portrait of Natasha Lancera with a Cat, 1924 by Zinaida Serebriakova

Mexico

Self Portrait With a Small Monkey, 1945, Frida Kahlo

Spain

Cat Catching A Bird, 1939, Pablo Picasso

Germany

The White Cat, 1912, Franz Marc

Japan

A White Cat Playing With a String, 1863, Hiroshige II

China

The Black Cat, 18th Century, Min Zhen

Which one is your favourite? Leave a note in the comments below.

Further Reading and References

https://www.rbth.com/arts/331164-15-cats-in-russian-paintings

Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=45692017

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_Marks_Again

https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/object-package/cats-and-dogs/22806

https://www.getdailyart.com/22691/hiroshige-ii/a-white-cat-playing-with-a-string

https://www.artstor.org/2017/08/22/the-bourgeois-pup-artists-and-dogs-in-the-19th-century-home/