Perhaps one of the main attractions of the domestic cat is our perfect blend of the exotic and the mundane. Even given our beauty and idiosyncrasy, all humans should have one or more. It is not surprising artists incorporated us into their works. Leonardo da Vinci called us 'a masterpiece'. The city of Amsterdam plays host to the Kattenkabinet, or Cat Museum, the only museum in the world fully dedicated to cats in art. In its present location in a beautifully restored 17th century canalside mansion on Herengracht 497, it houses a wonderful collection of cat-themed artworks.The Kattenkabinet was initially founded by Dutch painter Sal Meijer (1877-1965) (portrait surround by laurels) often criticised for his modest artistic aims and humble subject, the household cat. Yet Meijer loved cats and the collection, a labour of love, was begun in memory of a special cat with a fun name. His own cat, John Pierpont Morgan (1966-1983) named after the American banker, was the subject of the portrait which started the ball rolling. Cat owners might identify with the general silliness around the figure of this cat. Meijer honoured his cat with a portrait by Ansel Sanberg on his fifth birthday and a bronze statue on his tenth, unfortunately later stolen. At the grand age of 15 a booklet of cat-limericks was published and a single rendition of dollar bills was printed in which Washington´s portrait was replaced by that of the distinguished cat. "In God we trust " was replaced by "We trust no dogs". The exhibits include paintings, drawings and sculptures by artistic giants such as Rembrandt (Virgin & Child with Cat: etching), Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso, the woodblock prints of Utagawa Kuniyoshi and the black cat poster art of Théophile Steinlen. The logo of the museum is a detail from Rudyard Kipling´s 1926 Cat That Walked By Himself. Since its inception the museum has also acquired works by less well-known artists such as Henriëtte Ronner-Knip (cats in basket) , a 19th century Dutch artist who focused her talent on landscapes, dogs and cats. Despite the social restrictions on women at the time, she was able to support her family from her painting. Contemporary artists also figure, with the stunning watercolours of Sonja Dwinger (Siamese) and the inspiring sculptures of Lies Lobatto, as well as works by the contemporary British artist resident in Amsterdam, Helen Frik. Other works are signed by Argentinian artist, Leonor Fini, as well as Nicholas Tarkhoff, Leonard Tsuguharu Foujita and Albert Carel Willink and his 'imaginary realism'. The museum does not take itself too seriously and, fittingly, owns works by madcap cartoonist, Daan Remmerts de Vries, the aptly named comic artist, Marten Toonder and Aart Clerkx, also a comic creator and graphic designer. The cats on the paint-holding thingy is by Jan Hermanus. The Kattenkabinet is a gateway to Dutch art inspired by cats. It is a lovely place to relax and all felines are welcome to walk the halls and stay in the museum as long as they wish. How sensible are the Dutch.
TaTa is going tomorrow to visit the museum. Today I came out of my luxury hotel and am back home with KeKe. I miss TaTa and as a special present sent her a collared dove which landed next to her in the garden whilst she was eating breakfast (ontbijt in Dutch). She then went for a walk by the big canal nearby and she said the sun was hot today but by 3pm it became cold but the air is very fresh. Tomorrow she is going to take photos of Dutch cats - I don't know if they are different - maybe they wear clogs but I know they all live in windmills and eat cheese and have names like Tulip. I think they speak a different language too - they roll their arse - what did you say KeKe - oh they roll their rrrrrrrs.
