Cats in the Louvre [Hardcover]

Frederic Vitoux (Author), Elisbeth Foucart-Walter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 12, 2008 | Series: In the Louvre

Cats have never been short of admirers, and the world’s greatest artists have often paid tribute to the feline form. The department of Egyptian antiquities at the Louvre abounds in representations of the cat-goddess Bastet. Likewise, the cat has a much-felt presence in the museum’s collection of paintings, sitting with aristocratic ladies in intimate domestic scenes such as those depicted by Boilly or Fragonard, or showing their mischievous nature, such as the cat sprawled on the sumptuously laid table in Chardin’s La Raie. This beautiful volume is packed with artworks from all of the Louvre’s many departments. Each painting or sculpture is shown in its entirety and in detail, focusing on the feline presence. The artworks are accompanied by a short, illuminating commentary, and introduced by a preface in which the author draws upon his personal reflections on the irresistible cat. Cats in the Louvre provides a delightfully unusual tour through the most visited gallery in the world, and invites the reader to engage in a fresh way with some of the perennially inspiring themes of the works housed there. Art lovers will see the works in a new light, and cat lovers will simply be enchanted.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Frédéric Vitoux, a member of the prestigious Académie française and a literary and film critic for Le Nouvel Observateur, is both a novelist and essayist. He is the author of Living in Venice (Flammarion, 2007). Élisabeth Foucart-Walter is Chief Curator of the Painting Department at the Louvre. She co-wrote Painted Cat (Rizzoli, 1988), with Pierre Rosenberg.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 80 pages
• Publisher: Flammarion; 1 edition (February 12, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 2080300490
• ISBN-13: 978-2080300492
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 0.6 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #759,662 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect gift for a cat lover, February 17, 2008

By 

Robert C. Ross (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cats in the Louvre (Hardcover)

Amazon has done a very good job of describing this 80 page book. There are images from several of the departments of the Louvre, including both an overview of the work of art and a detail focused on the cat. Rizzoli has done an excellent job of reproducing the images.

The book was published in French last year, and both the French and English versions are beautifully produced. The comments by Frederic Vitoux are brief but add real value to the images.

If you find the cover image irresistible, you'll enjoy this lovely little picture book.

Robert C. Ross