In Western art, the cat is typically a symbol of laziness, the Devil, or libidinous temperament.
Question: What does the cat symbolize in paintings?
Answer: Idleness, evil, and lust
One can’t deny the appeal of the cat. Not only is the cat a loveable and treasured pet and member of the family, its appeal is also in its character—mysterious yet mischievous, independent yet affectionate, graceful and beautiful.
In ancient Egypt, the cat was a sacred and respected beast and was worshipped as a god. Cats were valued companions that the Egyptians domesticated and brought indoors; indeed, the punishment for killing or harming a cat was harsh. Cats were worshipped as gods yet they also had a practical function: they chased away snakes and kept mice and rats from stealing from the grain storehouses. The Sphinx is one of the earliest works of Egyptian art and is a representation of a lion with the head of the pharaoh, thus showing the pharaoh's power and importance.
The ancient Greeks and Romans also highly valued cats for their ability to control undesirable rodents. The cat was considered the guardian spirit of a household and the symbol of liberty.
During the Middle Ages, however, superstitions flourished. In Europe the cat was associated with the Devil, evil, voodoo, and witchcraft; many people believed that witches regularly transformed themselves into cats. Men and women were tortured or even killed for helping a sick or injured cat. During the witch hunts in Europe many innocent people were accused of witchcraft simply because they owned cats. Hundreds of thousands of cats were killed out of these fears. Leaders of the Christian church began a campaign against cats and had them slaughtered in masses in just about all of Europe, which led to the near extinction of cats in Europe by 1400. The destruction of so many cats upset the balance of the rodent population, contributing to the spread of bubonic plague (called "The Black Death") in which the disease was transmitted to people by rat fleas.
Then, not surprisingly, Europeans realized the important role cats played in controlling rodents, and cats gradually regained their popularity. Traders, explorers, and colonists brought domestic cats with them to the New World during the 1600s and 1700s, and settlers continued to take their cats with them as they moved west across the continent. Most cats in North America today are descendants of these cats.
Cats in Art
Perhaps the earliest example of cat featured in an artwork is in Israhel van Meckenem's engraving, “Visit to the Spinner,” (c.1495-1503). In the piece, a cat sits resting on the floor in an interior with a woman sitting and spinning accompanied by a man also sitting and holding his sword by the hilt with the point down on the floor between his feet. This work is from a series once considered to show straightforward scenes of daily life but now is interpreted as expressions of different sorts of love. This particular image represents illicit love. The cat was a medieval symbol of lust and prostitutes were nicknamed “cats”; note the modern-day continued use of the term “cathouse” as a nickname for a brothel. In the picture, the presence of the cat explains the reason for the man's visit to the woman.
Interestingly, in Jan van Eyck’s “The Birth of John the Baptist,” cats can be seen in the foreground, perhaps as a foreshadowing of the cats that were most likely present at Herod’s birthday party when John the Baptist would one day be beheaded. A viewer might assume this because Christians viewed cats as symbols of evil. Further consider how the Bible never mentions the cat in any favorable terms; in fact Christian martyrs were killed by lions.
Cats are frequently featured in paintings of later European masters like Leonardo da Vinci and Auguste Renoir. In these paintings, cats are not themselves the subject and may not be used as pure symbols but rather are part of a scene depicting everyday life. A typical example is Leonardo da Vinci's “Virgin and Child with Cat” seen here in a watercolor wash since no version of the final painting exists. Renoir was fond of including cats in his paintings. For example, “Sleeping Girl and Cat” shows the peaceful figure of a sleeping girl where the relaxed feeling is emphasized by the cat curled up on her lap.
Cats are enjoyable companions that have been praised through the centuries for their mysterious, beautiful, exotic looks. Perhaps Leonardo summed it up best when he referred to the cat as "Nature's Masterpiece."
Source:
Bailey, Colin J. “The Art Quiz Book: 2000+ Questions on Painters and Paintings.” Station Press: Scotland, 1995.
