To balance yesterday’s post about the dog star, today we feature three whimsical cat paintings by Tokyo born surrealist Tokuhiro Kawai. I am calling Kawai a surrealist, but perhaps it would be more correct to call him a painter of fantastical narrative: all of his works seem to have some sort of magical fairy-tale story behind them. Although the three monarchical cats shown here are lighthearted, some of Kawai’s other paintings are much more melodramatic and feature fearsome conflict between devils, angels, and heroes.
Each of these paintings features a Scottish Fold housecat either wearing a crown or being ceremonially coronated. The little black and white cat is so self-assured and regal that we hardly wonder at its elevation to the throne. With broad gleaming eyes and fur that seems as though the viewer could touch it, the cat seems real. One wonders if perhaps it belongs to the artist.
Kawai has a particular gift for painting animals and many of his compositions are filled from top to bottom with flamingos, foxes, owls, ammonites, and pelicans. Cats seem to be his favorite and they are pictured as conquerors, tyrants, and gods—in one of his pictures a feisty cat has killed an angel like it was a songbird and is holding the limp corpse in his fangs while standing like a stylite atop a classical column. Fortunately the cat in these three paintings does not seem as violent. The little kitty is clearly dreaming about the trappings of power—what it would be like to wield absolute authority and be pampered all day. Knowing my own pet housecat’s personality, I believe that such an interpreatation of feline psychology is not entirely a stretch.
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March 28, 2012 at 6:51 PM
meelybug
That’s awesome, the cat is too cute :D!
April 1, 2012 at 8:44 PM
Wayne
The artist really seems to grasp feline psychology.
April 2, 2012 at 3:12 PM
meelybug
Agreed.
March 28, 2012 at 7:23 PM
twixraider
The not-so-bright British Shorthair seems to be dominant in his models, like Kawai wants to point at the royal inbreed, think of the Prince of ears of Wales… 😀
March 28, 2012 at 9:09 PM
dianaarterian
Ha!
June 23, 2012 at 2:51 PM
Sally Patch
actually twix.. THIS is a scottish fold, NOT a british shorthair
August 23, 2017 at 1:21 PM
purrcatlady
Very talented & an excellent artist for cats & cherubs.