April 5, 1732

Jean-Honoré Fragonard  (April 5, 1732 to August 22,  1806) painted cats sometimes. This is not surprising since his art was very popular at the French court, and Louis XV was fond of white Angora cats. One example titled The Angora Cat. is interesting.

It shows a cat resisting being groomed, and actually the lady is rendered quite well, though the cat is unrealistically portrayed: in similar circumstances, a cat would flee rather than resist. Perhaps it is tied down or something. This canvas is dated 1785. The benign attitude of the woman though, also catches the fact she knows what a cat scratch is and does not want to engage the cat at the level of brute strength. 

Not everyone in the ancien regime was heedless.



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