The Cat in Art

I love art. I LOVE Cats. I love my Cat! And I LOVE this BOOK! I found the subtile use of painting in cats in great and famous paintings, by their artists something so sweet and etheral. To see a CAT at the feet of the Apostles in many Last Supper paintings was percious and very human, and very feline. Some paintings just show a hint of the cat in the background, but the author here provides a close-up of the cat. Commentary is an easy read, and the artwork used is just awesome. The book is very thick, takes a few days to go through it, as I went slowly, looking at each painting and reading about the cat in the scene. High QUALITY publishing and cover. Each page is a delight to me!

I have to admit, I know this book from its French edition, that I acquired at the Louvre in Paris. But assuming the English version stays true to the version I have (it was originally written in Italian), then this is a thoroughly enjoyable volume. More than just another book of cute pictures of cats (which is not to say that's a bad thing) this book is actually an overview of the changing place of the cat in society, as demonstrated by the leading artists of the day. An engaging study in changing iconography, we can trace how the cat changed from devil's "familiar" in the Middle Ages to the protector of the home (by killing rats and mice) as shown in beautifuly reproduced works of art from the world's major museums. Zuffi is an engaging writer and scholar who has provided us with a lvoely and entertaining portrait of the cat.

This book FAR exceeded my expectations. It's a beautiful, thick hardback edition full of wonderful history of how art documents the changing place of cats in our lives. I noticed several reviews complaining that it's not full of pictures OF cats. These people clearly missed the point. The history of cats in society is as much about where they're NOT seen as where they are. Whether you're interested in art, history, or the history of cats, this book comes HIGHLY recommended.

this is a lovely, lovely book of artworks, some famous, some not and some of the paintings show only the cats in the compositions and not the whole painting. still a book on cats in art works of paint and sculpture is wonderful. a very diverse collection of pictures. i have shown it to all my cat people at work and they love it. i have seen a lot of the pictures in previous books but the very volume of this book has a lot that are new to me. the modern art cats is a great chapter.

I bought this book as a gift for my friend, who is neither a museum curator nor an art historian. I wanted something fun to look at and easy to read, heavy on full-color plates and light on text. This book is exactly that. If you want some scholar's doctoral dissertation with lots of footnotes and bone-dry commentary, look elsewhere. If you love cats and great works of art, look no further.

I am a cat lover, so I expected to see a lot of nice paintings in this cat art book. But now I am disappointed, because most of the pictures are not so nice. I have the feeling that the one who made the choise of the pictures does not really love cats. He only wanted to show the history of painting cats, not how beautiful, cute, charming, intelligent and independent they are. The cats mostly look ugly, you can only see the shape and/ or they are not the main subject but an incidential. Maybe it is because many paintings are from the Middle Ages where cats had been demonised by the church. There are only a few nice paintings for example from Renoir.

As a cat person, I enjoyed looking at famous paintings to see where the cat was included. In some cases, it was like the "Where's Waldo" pictures. A few cats were well hidden - but there.

Beautiful artwork and a lovely history on the pieces enclosed. If you love history and cats then this is one coffee table book that is sure to please!

I ordered this book to indulge my passions for art and cats. It is a very comprehensive book covering art from the medieval to modern eras. There are lots of beautiful illustrations. It is a really lovely book which would appeal to art lovers even if they are not cat fans. Highly recommended.

book cover is pretty wrinkled, dirty and it has already been resold twice, according to the signatures and childish stickers on the cover. why the f. peope urge to write something in the book?!

Bought this as a present for a friend who loves cats and is studying for a degree in the history of art. He loved this book and I do too - I will be ordering another copy for myself!

Bought as a gift so not sampled.

If you love cats and art from ancient to modern, this is the book for you.Not just for cat lovers.