Cats
Cats in Art
Curled by the fire, perched on a lap, or watching from the shadows — cats have slipped into paintings for centuries with their usual quiet confidence. The collection’s best cats, up close.
20 details · cropped from original museum images
lying tabby cat
Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen · Summer: Cat on a Balustrade
Art Institute of Chicago
white cat
Édouard Manet · The Cats' Rendezvous
Art Institute of Chicago
tabby cat resting on a cushion
Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen · Winter: Cat on a Cushion
Art Institute of Chicago
large tabby cat
Cornelis Visscher · The Large Cat
Art Institute of Chicago
ginger and white cat
Annibale Carracci · Two Children Teasing a Cat
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Cat being held
Berthe Morisot (French, 1841-1895) · Young Girl with a Cat
Art Institute of Chicago
cat looking up
Jean Siméon Chardin · The Silver Tureen
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Black cat
Édouard Manet · Olympia (published plate)
Art Institute of Chicago
cat's paw grabbing fish
Giuseppe Recco · A Cat Stealing Fish
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
cat held by the girl
Berthe Morisot · Young Girl with a Cat
Art Institute of Chicago
playing cat
Kaigetsudo Dohan · Courtesan Playing with a Cat
Art Institute of Chicago
Cat standing by
Thomas Gainsborough · A Boy with a Cat—Morning
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Scattered white dog fleeing
Briton Riviere · Pallas Athena and the Herdsman's Dogs
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Cattle in the foreground
Unknown artist · Village Among the Trees
Art Institute of Chicago
cat eating a large ham
Jan Steen · The Dissolute Household
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
herd of cattle walking near water
Salomon van Ruysdael · A Country Road
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
cat being held
Paul Gauguin (French, 1848–1903) · Polynesian Woman with Children
Art Institute of Chicago
Calico cat
Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes) · Manuel Osorio Manrique de Zuñiga (1784–1792)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
livestock (cattle) being led
After Titian (Italian, c. 1488-1576) · The Submersion of Pharaoh's Army in the Red Sea
Art Institute of Chicago
cattle by the water
Aert van der Neer · Landscape at Sunset
The Metropolitan Museum of Art