Liggende kat c. 1886 - 1891

George Hendrik Breitner captured this languid feline in a drawing, its medium likely charcoal or graphite. The drawing presents a study in contrasts, where the stark black lines against the white paper evoke a sense of immediacy. The artist’s marks, which oscillate between controlled strokes and loose scribbles, create a dynamic interplay of light and shadow. These variations define the cat's form and the texture of its fur, transforming the subject into a network of lines that emphasize its structure and volume. Breitner destabilizes the traditional portraiture. He subverts the fixed representation of the domestic animal and re-engages with a semiotic system that signifies the cat’s intrinsic feline qualities. The cat's body, reduced to its simplest forms, becomes a site of constant interpretation and re-interpretation.