Tension Between Cat and Ball by Gertrude Abercrombie

“Siamese Cat with Blue Ball”, 1956 – Gertrude Abercrombie, American (1909 – 1977)

A nice enough, quite charming and calming painting. A cat sits passively, head turned and tail curled, concentrating on a blue ball. Will the cat respond with a playful attack?. The paint is textured and painterly.

The use of colour is well thought out. The blue background has hints of green which are picked up in the cat’s fur and the ground.

Contrasts give a dynamic such as the cool blue against the warmer greens and browns as well as the dark cat fur and lighter colours. There is a rather traditional compositional split of one third bottom part and two thirds upper part.

Although the image is quite still there is a dynamic tension between the blue ball and the cat’s eye and again with the blue ball and the cat’s tail.

Between the 3 dynamic points, the ball, curled tail and the cat’s face and eye, we have a three-way dynamic which moves the viewer’s eye around the painting. There is quite a lot going on compositionally that makes this charming painting work.

Art appreciation is not about making you like a painting but rather pointing out how well a painting has been constructed and executed and how well the meaning and intent has been delivered. Liking the painting or not is simply a personal viewpoint that is OK to express without the need for creditable or tangible evidence.

Art criticism or appreciation requires a deeper understanding of the painting with creditable evidence to backup the claim. Art can offer so much more with a will to explore a deeper understanding of the paintings you see and the rewards of such endeavours will give you great pleasure in many ways.

Love Art, Love Life. Talking Art with Paul Woods.