10 famous artists and their pets

I became a pet portrait artist because I love drawing and I love animals. I’ve drawn over a hundred portraits now of other people’s pets, but I also love drawing my own cat Titus. Many artists throughout history have had pets that were important to them and appeared in their artworks. Here are 10 famous artists and what I have discovered about their furry companions:

1) Pablo Picasso

The renowned Spanish artist had a love for cats, particularly a Siamese cat named Minou (Kitty) that he owned for many years. He featured cats in several of his works, including Cat Catching a Bird and Cat and Lobster. He also had a Dachshund called Lump who appears in some of his paintings such as Las Meninas, and is the main subject in this single lined minimalist portrait. At one time or another, Picasso also owned owls, dogs, a mouse and a goat and inherited his friend Matisse’s doves.

“Lump” by Pablo Picasso (Pixabay.com)

2) Salvador Dali

The Spanish surrealist painter had a pet ocelot (a medium-sized spotted wild cat) named Babou, which he often took with him to public events and appeared in many photographs with. Dali was known for his eccentricity, and his unusual pet was just one of many ways he expressed this. I have not so far managed to find a picture he drew of a cat but here is a great picture of him with Babou:

Salvador Dali with Babou (colourised by hotpot.ai)

3) Claude Monet

The French impressionist painter might have had a dog as he painted his wife with one in Camille with a Small Dog. Monet included dogs in other paintings, such as Girl with Dog, and Head of the Dog.

“Camille with a Small Dog,” and “Head of the Dog,” by Claude Monet.

4) Vincent van Gogh

While there are at least a couple of cat pictures by Vincent van Gogh and one of a dog, I can’t seem to find out much more about the Dutch painter’s relationship to animals. I did, though, keep coming across a one eared dog called van Gogh who “makes paintings” with his tongue. His owner squirts different coloured paints on a canvas, puts the canvas in a plastic bag, and then covers the bag with peanut butter. A few licks later, and an impressionistic masterpiece appears!

A dog and a cat by Vincent van Gogh

5) Andy Warhol

The American artist was known for his love of cats. In fact, he lived with his mother and 25 cats. The first was a Siamese named Hester and then they got another called Sam and then they had more which were apparently all called Sam! He printed a book full of cat pictures called 25 Cats Name Sam and One BluePussy. I don’t think I can display the pictures in this blog but you can see lots of the cats here.

6) Jackson Pollock

The American abstract expressionist painter had a dog named Gyp, a German Shepherd mix that he adopted from a shelter. Gyp was a loyal companion to Pollock and often accompanied him to his studio. There are many photographs of Pollock and Gyp together, and Gyp even appears in some of his paintings. He also had a Poodle called Ahab.

Jackson Pollock with Gyp and Ahab

7) Pierre-Auguste Renoir

The French impressionist painter had several cats and often included them in his paintings. His cat, named Grisette, was a regular subject in his paintings, including "Woman with a Cat" and "Girl with a Watering Can." He also painted a dog in Confidence (secrets).

Woman with a Cat, by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Adapted from Rob Corder on Flikr

8) Henri Matisse

The French artist (painter, draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor) was known for his love of cats and owned several throughout his life including ones called Minouche, Coussi and La Puce (the flea) whom he is said to have fed with pieces of brioche every morning. He also loved and kept doves, who feature in many of his artworks. His friend Picasso used one as the model for his Dove of Peace.

He sometimes included cats in his works, including Gold Fish and Cats Painting (I think he did this one, there are lots of versions/adaptions of it online), and his iconic The Cat with Red Fish.

I could not find a copyright free image of the “Cat with the Red Fish” so here is an AI version. Rather crass and hideous compared to the original one unfortunately.

9) Leonardo da Vinci

The Italian artist and inventor is known to have had several pets, including a beloved cat. He produced several sketches for a painting Madonna with a Cat (or Virgin and Christ Child with a Cat) but sadly never finished it. We also have some other sketches he did of cats. He is thought to have painted Lady with an Ermine which features a white ermine or stoat. It kind of looks like a pet but I expect there is some sort of symbolism going on.

The Virgin and Child, a child with a cat, and the Holy Children embracing (Creative Commons 4 Credit The Royal Collection Trust) by Leonardo da Vinci, and Cats, Lions, and a Dragon by Leonardo da Vinci.

10) Rembrandt van Rijn

The Dutch master painter only produced a couple of paintings with dogs as the main subject but he included them in several others such as The Night Watch and Portrait of a Lady with a Lap Dog. The lady in the latter is Rembrandt’s daughter-in-law, Magdalena van Loo. Women were drawn with dogs to symbolise their marital loyalty. While I can’t find much information on whether Rembrandt liked dogs or not, he certainly included one in this self portrait.

“Self-portrait in oriental attire with poodle” by Rembrandt van Rijn

“Sleeping Puppy,” by Rembrandt van Rijn

Conclusion

I hope you have found this little summary of artists and their pets interesting. I was a bit disappointed not to be able to find out more about a couple of them, but most seemed to really love their pets and like drawing them. If you want to see more artists and pets, check out Impressionist Cats & Dogs – Pets in the Painting of Modern Life:

I’ll finish with some photo’s of my cat Titus. In the first one he is sitting next to a picture I drew of him a while back to launch my popular mini pet portraits. The second and third are of a more recent drawing I did for my sister to take with her to university.