The cat at play

A little black and white kitten has found the best kind of trouble in this 1880 painting by Henriëtte Ronner Knip. Stretched out low on a shiny wooden table, it eyes a scattered set of dominoes with total concentration, one paw reaching forward as if a pounce is only seconds away. Around it lie the leftovers of a household in use: loose papers, a gleaming brass dish, and an open wooden box. Ordinary clutter becomes a kitten's private amusement park.

Ronner Knip was a Dutch-Belgian artist who built her whole reputation on painting cats, and buyers all over Europe loved her for it. She came from a family of painters and began with landscapes and animals before discovering that felines were her real calling. To capture them so convincingly, she kept her own cats in a specially built glass studio where she could watch their every twitch and stretch. That habit shows here in the fluffy softness of the fur, the warm shine bouncing off the brass, and the smooth glow of the tabletop. The subject is modest and the mood is light, but the affection behind every brushstroke is easy to spot.