A Cat Can Also Be a Masterpiece: About the Cat in Art and Culture from Antiquity to Modern Times

Sławomir Filipek

doi:doi:10.11648/j.hss.20221005.17

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A Cat Can Also Be a Masterpiece: About the Cat in Art and Culture from Antiquity to Modern Times

Sławomir Filipek

Published in Humanities and Social Sciences (Volume 10, Issue 5)

Received: 2 April 2022 Accepted: 6 June 2022 Published: 24 October 2022

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Abstract

As Leonardo da Vinci used to say: "every cat, even the smallest one, is a masterpiece." The text is an attempt to show the role of this domestic animal in culture from antiquity to the present day. In comparison to the dogs, they find much less reference in culture, tradition, beliefs or art. Nevertheless, cats do show up in every civilization and culture, playing both positive and negative roles as well over the centuries. In European and Christian cultures they appear much more often in negative contexts and pejorative symbolism. In some cultures they were worshiped, given inviolability, treated as a deity, in others they were ignored or even considered to be the embodiment of Satan. Although the cat does not appear directly in the Bible, it is a common symbolic theme for scenes related to Christ, such as the Last Supper and the Feast of Emmaus. Along with the spread of the cat as a companion-household member of human life, the interest in the cat in art, mainly in painting, increases, as exemplified by numerous works by masters of painting, which this text presents while recalling successive eras. In the course of history, the cat was first worshiped, then it lost its importance, only to regain it in a different form, as a companion of human life, a pet and a household member. The cat has permanently entered the canon of the world art through outstanding works of European painters, and has also found its place in popular culture.

Published in	Humanities and Social Sciences (Volume 10, Issue 5)
DOI	10.11648/j.hss.20221005.17
Page(s)	319-327
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Cat, Art, Paintings, Sculpture, Culture, Literature

References

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Sławomir Filipek. (2022). A Cat Can Also Be a Masterpiece: About the Cat in Art and Culture from Antiquity to Modern Times. Humanities and Social Sciences, 10(5), 319-327. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20221005.17

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Sławomir Filipek. A Cat Can Also Be a Masterpiece: About the Cat in Art and Culture from Antiquity to Modern Times. Humanit. Soc. Sci. 2022, 10(5), 319-327. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20221005.17

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AMA Style

Sławomir Filipek. A Cat Can Also Be a Masterpiece: About the Cat in Art and Culture from Antiquity to Modern Times. Humanit Soc Sci. 2022;10(5):319-327. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20221005.17

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@article{10.11648/j.hss.20221005.17,
  author = {Sławomir Filipek},
  title = {A Cat Can Also Be a Masterpiece: About the Cat in Art and Culture from Antiquity to Modern Times},
  journal = {Humanities and Social Sciences},
  volume = {10},
  number = {5},
  pages = {319-327},
  doi = {10.11648/j.hss.20221005.17},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20221005.17},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.hss.20221005.17},
  abstract = {As Leonardo da Vinci used to say: "every cat, even the smallest one, is a masterpiece." The text is an attempt to show the role of this domestic animal in culture from antiquity to the present day. In comparison to the dogs, they find much less reference in culture, tradition, beliefs or art. Nevertheless, cats do show up in every civilization and culture, playing both positive and negative roles as well over the centuries. In European and Christian cultures they appear much more often in negative contexts and pejorative symbolism. In some cultures they were worshiped, given inviolability, treated as a deity, in others they were ignored or even considered to be the embodiment of Satan. Although the cat does not appear directly in the Bible, it is a common symbolic theme for scenes related to Christ, such as the Last Supper and the Feast of Emmaus. Along with the spread of the cat as a companion-household member of human life, the interest in the cat in art, mainly in painting, increases, as exemplified by numerous works by masters of painting, which this text presents while recalling successive eras. In the course of history, the cat was first worshiped, then it lost its importance, only to regain it in a different form, as a companion of human life, a pet and a household member. The cat has permanently entered the canon of the world art through outstanding works of European painters, and has also found its place in popular culture.},
 year = {2022}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - A Cat Can Also Be a Masterpiece: About the Cat in Art and Culture from Antiquity to Modern Times
AU  - Sławomir Filipek
Y1  - 2022/10/24
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20221005.17
DO  - 10.11648/j.hss.20221005.17
T2  - Humanities and Social Sciences
JF  - Humanities and Social Sciences
JO  - Humanities and Social Sciences
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EP  - 327
PB  - Science Publishing Group
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UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20221005.17
AB  - As Leonardo da Vinci used to say: "every cat, even the smallest one, is a masterpiece." The text is an attempt to show the role of this domestic animal in culture from antiquity to the present day. In comparison to the dogs, they find much less reference in culture, tradition, beliefs or art. Nevertheless, cats do show up in every civilization and culture, playing both positive and negative roles as well over the centuries. In European and Christian cultures they appear much more often in negative contexts and pejorative symbolism. In some cultures they were worshiped, given inviolability, treated as a deity, in others they were ignored or even considered to be the embodiment of Satan. Although the cat does not appear directly in the Bible, it is a common symbolic theme for scenes related to Christ, such as the Last Supper and the Feast of Emmaus. Along with the spread of the cat as a companion-household member of human life, the interest in the cat in art, mainly in painting, increases, as exemplified by numerous works by masters of painting, which this text presents while recalling successive eras. In the course of history, the cat was first worshiped, then it lost its importance, only to regain it in a different form, as a companion of human life, a pet and a household member. The cat has permanently entered the canon of the world art through outstanding works of European painters, and has also found its place in popular culture.
VL  - 10
IS  - 5
ER  -

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Author Information

Sławomir Filipek

Cracow Branch of Association of Art Historians, The Association of Art Historians in Poland, Cracow, Poland

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Sławomir Filipek. (2022). A Cat Can Also Be a Masterpiece: About the Cat in Art and Culture from Antiquity to Modern Times. Humanities and Social Sciences, 10(5), 319-327. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20221005.17

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Sławomir Filipek. A Cat Can Also Be a Masterpiece: About the Cat in Art and Culture from Antiquity to Modern Times. Humanit. Soc. Sci. 2022, 10(5), 319-327. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20221005.17

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AMA Style

Sławomir Filipek. A Cat Can Also Be a Masterpiece: About the Cat in Art and Culture from Antiquity to Modern Times. Humanit Soc Sci. 2022;10(5):319-327. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20221005.17

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@article{10.11648/j.hss.20221005.17,
  author = {Sławomir Filipek},
  title = {A Cat Can Also Be a Masterpiece: About the Cat in Art and Culture from Antiquity to Modern Times},
  journal = {Humanities and Social Sciences},
  volume = {10},
  number = {5},
  pages = {319-327},
  doi = {10.11648/j.hss.20221005.17},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20221005.17},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.hss.20221005.17},
  abstract = {As Leonardo da Vinci used to say: "every cat, even the smallest one, is a masterpiece." The text is an attempt to show the role of this domestic animal in culture from antiquity to the present day. In comparison to the dogs, they find much less reference in culture, tradition, beliefs or art. Nevertheless, cats do show up in every civilization and culture, playing both positive and negative roles as well over the centuries. In European and Christian cultures they appear much more often in negative contexts and pejorative symbolism. In some cultures they were worshiped, given inviolability, treated as a deity, in others they were ignored or even considered to be the embodiment of Satan. Although the cat does not appear directly in the Bible, it is a common symbolic theme for scenes related to Christ, such as the Last Supper and the Feast of Emmaus. Along with the spread of the cat as a companion-household member of human life, the interest in the cat in art, mainly in painting, increases, as exemplified by numerous works by masters of painting, which this text presents while recalling successive eras. In the course of history, the cat was first worshiped, then it lost its importance, only to regain it in a different form, as a companion of human life, a pet and a household member. The cat has permanently entered the canon of the world art through outstanding works of European painters, and has also found its place in popular culture.},
 year = {2022}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - A Cat Can Also Be a Masterpiece: About the Cat in Art and Culture from Antiquity to Modern Times
AU  - Sławomir Filipek
Y1  - 2022/10/24
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20221005.17
DO  - 10.11648/j.hss.20221005.17
T2  - Humanities and Social Sciences
JF  - Humanities and Social Sciences
JO  - Humanities and Social Sciences
SP  - 319
EP  - 327
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-8184
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20221005.17
AB  - As Leonardo da Vinci used to say: "every cat, even the smallest one, is a masterpiece." The text is an attempt to show the role of this domestic animal in culture from antiquity to the present day. In comparison to the dogs, they find much less reference in culture, tradition, beliefs or art. Nevertheless, cats do show up in every civilization and culture, playing both positive and negative roles as well over the centuries. In European and Christian cultures they appear much more often in negative contexts and pejorative symbolism. In some cultures they were worshiped, given inviolability, treated as a deity, in others they were ignored or even considered to be the embodiment of Satan. Although the cat does not appear directly in the Bible, it is a common symbolic theme for scenes related to Christ, such as the Last Supper and the Feast of Emmaus. Along with the spread of the cat as a companion-household member of human life, the interest in the cat in art, mainly in painting, increases, as exemplified by numerous works by masters of painting, which this text presents while recalling successive eras. In the course of history, the cat was first worshiped, then it lost its importance, only to regain it in a different form, as a companion of human life, a pet and a household member. The cat has permanently entered the canon of the world art through outstanding works of European painters, and has also found its place in popular culture.
VL  - 10
IS  - 5
ER  -

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