Henriëtte Ronner-Knip
Henriëtte Ronner-Knip (1821–1909) was a Dutch-Belgian artist in the Romantic style who is best known for her animal paintings; especially cats.
Ronner-Knip’s paintings are characterized by their feathery brushstrokes and warm colors, which lend a sense of emotion to her portrayals of dogs and cats, depicted as playing or sleeping in domestic scenes. Knip’s fame began to flourish in 1845 with her sporting canine paintings, when she gained commissions from many prominent people, including the Queen of Belgium. These scenes, including hunting dogs in forests or the countryside, grew increasingly popular. During this time, she married Teico Ronner and moved to Brussels, Belgium. Though canine pictures brought her great celebrity, she gradually shifted to using cats as subjects, most likely due to her adoption of a cat of her own. The switch in genres brought different admirers and another surge in popularity as she depicted sleepy cats and playful cats in her usual darker tones. As she aged, she lightened up her hues and tones a bit, which could have been due to the increasing pressure to follow the modernist’s lighter style. Throughout her 81 years, Henriëtte Ronner-Knip won dozens of awards and achievements before passing away in the spring of 1909.
I love this painting and its title so much! But you know, I'm a cat lover (for sure my cat Pimpek knows that). : D
P.S. Here are 15 cats in art history every cat lover would love! <3