Cats at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec

As I was browsing the website of the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (I live a 10 to 15 minute walk away), I've discovered they have an online exhibits on their art featuring cats! Click here to visit (and by the way, it took me a while to figure out you're supposed to browse using the middle click of your mouse).

The Woman and the Cat
by Gertrude Des Clayes, before 1936.

Townsends Talks Cats in the 18th Century

I always enjoy watching Townsends' videos for reenactors. This week, they are discussing our feline friends in the 1700s. 

PBS Eons: How We Domesticated Cats (Twice)

If you love anything and everything prehistoric, do not miss out on PBS Eon. Recently they came out with a new video on the domestication of cats!

Cats: The Soft Underbelly of the Enlightenment

 Jean-Baptiste Oudry, Le Général, 1728. Detail.

Academia is gradually turning to more “open access” methods of publishing rather than depending on stuffy, expensive journals. Instead of the usual expensive subscription needed to enjoy the latest research, the general public can now browse for themselves recent scholarship free of charge. I’ve had the pleasure of discovering this week one such resource: Journal18, described as “the first journal dedicated to the field of eighteenth-century art history”. Each issue has a theme, the latest one as of this writing being “Animals”.

Well, dear cat lovers, I would invite you to read this excellent article which reflects on the evolution of the cat as an allegory in 18^th century art. It is a fascinating journey through period representations of felines, the early days of biology, philosophy, and political theory.

Freund, Amy, et Michael Yonan, « Cats: The Soft Underbelly of the Enlightenment », Journal18: A Journal of Eighteenth-Century Art and Culture, Volume 7, (Spring 2019). Online: http://www.journal18.org/issue7/cats-the-soft-underbelly-of-the-enlightenment/

Cats and academia: a short history

Swing over to this link for an interesting article on cats and academia.

The 18th Century Material Culture Resource Center

The 18th Century Material Culture Resource Center has a nice collection of cats images from the 18th century. Well worth checking out:
https://www.scribd.com/document/254040814/Animals-The-Cat

De Sève's Cats

I just love stumbling on cats during my research. Recently, I was looking for a few 18th century engravings to illustrate one of my presentations when I came across these wonderful images. They were created by Jacques de Sève, one of the main illustrators for Buffon's Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière, avec la description du Cabinet du Roi. 

Source: 

• Sève, Jacques de. Figures pour l'histoire des quadrupèdes par M. de Buffon. Tome II. 1755-1758. 193 p. http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b105279154

Le Chat sauvage [The Wild Cat] 

Le chat domestique [The Domestic Cat]

Le Chat d'Espagne [The Spanish (Calico) Cat]

Le Chat des Chartreux [The Chartreux Cat]

Le Chat d'Angora [The Angora Cat]