What’s the take care of Leonardo’s harpsichord-viola? Why have been Impressionists obsessive about the colour purple? Art Bites brings you a stunning truth, lesser-known anecdote, or curious occasion from artwork historical past. These pleasant nuggets make clear the lives of famed artists and decode their practices, whereas including new layers of intrigue to celebrated masterpieces.
One incontrovertible fact concerning the web is that it has been taken over by cats. But such feline infatuation has a protracted historical past—notably within the artwork world. Case in level: famend Austrian artist Gustav Klimt liked cats a lot that he allow them to take over his studio, too. When artwork critic Arthur Roessler visited the painter’s studio, he was reportedly shocked by the circumstances he met.
“As I sat with Klimt and rummaged around in a heap of papers, surrounded by eight or 10 meowing, purring cats, play fighting with each other, so much so that the rustling study sheets just went flying, I asked him, puzzled, why he tolerated such antics spoiling hundreds of the most beautiful drawings,” Roessler wrote.
Klimt was pointedly unbothered by the chaos round him. “No, my friend, even if they crumple and tear one or the other pieces of paper,” he advised the critic. “It doesn’t matter; they only pee on the others, and, you know, it makes the best fixing agent.”
There’s no realizing if Klimt did use cat pee as a fixative on his work. There’s no scientific proof that feline urine is in any respect helpful as a fixation agent. In truth, the substance would extra probably spoil art work than enhance it. More plausible is that Klimt had made the declare in jest, leaning into his repute as an obsessive cat-lover.
The painter was equally recognized for his reclusiveness. Klimt used his artwork to elevate him out of poverty, shifting from the Austrian countryside to the glamorous metropolis of Vienna. Though they have been shopping for up his work, Vienna’s rich social elite shunned him. His nation dialect and mannerisms have been deemed unfit for prime society. He additionally by no means participated within the cafe tradition that was central to the approach to life of European artists.
It’s no shock, then, that the painter turned to his furry buddies for firm. An iconic picture, shot by photographer Moriz Naehr, depicted him standing outdoors his studio, carrying one of many floor-length caftans he painted in, cradling his beloved cat Katze.
Left: Gustav Klimt, The Kiss (1907–1908). Collection of the Belvedere, Vienna. Right: A.I. image generated on Midjourney by Vienna Tourist Board. Photos: © Belvedere Museum and Vienna Tourist Board.
Remarkably, regardless of his deep affection for them, Klimt by no means painted cats. Last yr, nonetheless, the Vienna Tourist Board mashed up the web’s love of cats with Klimt’s once they launched their marketing campaign titled UnArtificial Art. They used A.I. to reimagine Klimt’s iconic art work, The Kiss, changing the lovers within the portray with sorrowful felines in a young embrace.
Follow Artnet News on Facebook:
Want to remain forward of the artwork world? Subscribe to our e-newsletter to get the breaking information, eye-opening interviews, and incisive essential takes that drive the dialog ahead.
