Henriëtte Ronner Knip

Henriëtte Ronner-Knip was a Dutch-Belgian painter famous above all for her charming pictures of cats. Born in Amsterdam in 1821 into a family of artists, she first painted landscapes and animals such as dogs before finding her signature subject. She became hugely popular for tender, lively scenes of cats and kittens playing among baskets, sewing boxes, and household clutter.

She studied her feline models closely, even building a special glass-fronted studio so she could watch and paint them at ease. Her warm, skilful animal paintings won her success across Europe. Ronner-Knip remains one of the best loved painters of cats, capturing their curiosity and mischief with real affection.