Chat saisissant un oiseau (Cat Catching a Bird)

While seemingly domestic, this painting is actually an image of the war in Spain, or a premonition of even worse things to come. During the first three months of 1939, the cities of Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia fell into the hands of Franco's troops. At the same time, Hitler was advancing into Eastern Europe. To heighten emotions for the artist, Picasso's mother died on January 13th of that that year. Political and personal events combined in his imagination, resulting in tormented pictures full of allegorical resonances. Here, the cat is caked with mud, holding a bird in its jaws. Frantic, the bird struggles to free itself. The color-scheme is muted, consisting of dull browns pierced with white streaks that accentuate the sharp, monstrous claws, the glowing eyes, and the bird's damaged wing that shows a raw wound: a wound that may be either that of Picasso or what was soon-to-be Europe.
SKU: 6987
Creator: Pablo Picasso
Original Medium: oil on Canvas
Original Size: 31 7/8 x 39 3/8 in
Location: Musée National Picasso
© Succession Picasso 2010