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]

The Aberdeen Bestiary

Heads up for those who love illuminated manuscript! The University of Aberdeen has just digitized this beautiful bestiary. Check it out! http://www.abdn.ac.uk/bestiary/

Academics with Cats

I can't believe I forgot to mention that there are "#twitterstorians" who regularly post images of their cats under the hashtag #academicswithcats. Yours truly is often there posting pictures of his own cats. Did I mention we now have a second cat since last year? Little Diderot!

Little Diderot jumped on my shoulder this morning, not wanting me to work on campus! #academicswithcats pic.twitter.com/T3lJRtevnx

— Joseph Gagné (@josgagne) September 26, 2016

It's Diderot's first birthday today! #AcademicsWithCats pic.twitter.com/op3AQpXYpS

— Joseph Gagné (@josgagne) September 10, 2016

Space Cats!

Stumbled on this bit of internet gold:

A Cat, by Wenceslaus Hollar

Nothing big for this post. I was simply googling an image reference to the 17th century Czech artist Wenceslaus Hollar when I stumbled on these feline-related engravings by him:

 

The Great Cat Massacre

I haven't read this book yet, but it is certainly on my reading list! Have any of you read it?

Poe doesn't care much for this book... #academicswithcats pic.twitter.com/te9RTv5uvk

— Joseph Gagné (@josgagne) August 22, 2016

A Feline Civil War Museum?

Article over at the Washington Post: There’s a museum for everything. Even Civil War battles — depicted by cats. Quoted: “We just don’t make clay people as well as cats”.

How convenient?

Yestervid: Oldest Cat Video Ever

I've just discovered the wonderful YouTube channel Yestervid. The video bellow is a great example of the kind of stuff they have, and convenient for this blog's subject matter. Enjoy! (And don't forget to visit their channel!)

P.S. I think I recall one video being older, showing a girl playing with a kitten. To be verified...

Cat Funerals in the Victorian Age

Little Lizie Lynch, by Julian Alden Weir, c1910

How did the Victorians treat their furry friends when kitty kicked the bucket? Find out in this fascinating blog post from Mimi Matthews: https://mimimatthews.com/2016/01/21/cat-funerals-in-the-victorian-era/

Academic felines

For you colleagues out there, you might enjoy: Cats and academia: a short history at: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/cats-and-academia-short-history?utm_content=bufferecdcf&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Crazy Cat Ladies!

iO9 just came out with a short history of the crazy cat lady. You can read the article here.

Cat-Crazy Japan

Japan's obsession with cats isn't a recent thing... just hop over to iO9 to see for yourself: Even In 19th Century Japan, People Loved To See Cats Doing Human Things

Demon Cats!

Hello! With the Halloween season fast approaching, I'm happy to share some demon-cat-related goodness with you. First, however, I must apologize if academia is keeping me too busy to regularly update my blog with new researched blog posts. Luckily, I'm not so busy as to not have time to keep track of my favourite podcasts and, as luck would have it, share with you this recent cat-oriented talk. In this week's edition of MonsterTalk (one of my favourite podcasts), guest speaker Dr. Paul Koudounaris talks about the history of possessed cats in folklore and history. Spooooky! Click below to download the episode!

Butt-licking cat

Hi all,
Just a quicky post to share Kate Beaton's latest blog post which made me laugh:
http://beatonna.tumblr.com/post/98917026965/discardingimages-butt-licking-cat-see-original