Theophile Steinlen was a total cat person.

He drew so many cats that he probably has a fish pond named after him in kitty heaven. During his days as a struggling artist, Steinlen would sell his paintings to feed the cats in his neighborhood. I mean this guy was just awesome sauce.

Steinlen was born in Switzerland, where he also went to college. He studied to become an industrial designer, but his first internship sent him to a textile mill in Mulhouse, France. After crossing over to France, Steinlen was slowly nudged towards Paris. In 1878, he made the move to Montmarte with his wife. They met a few Swiss people here, one of them being the owner of the iconic Le Chat Noir Cabaret, an establishment for which Steinlen made posters and illustrations. The club was quite a success, frequented by a number of intellectuals and artists of the Parisian community. You could have a drink with Toulouse de Lautrec, or a smoke with Emile Zola. 

The Swiss artist was soon taken in by political discourse, echoing the beliefs of the communist cause. He realized soon enough that he could use his art to talk about social justice. It was a lucrative revelation. He didn’t even have to use his real name. He could be whoever he wanted to be, and he chose to be Jean Caillou. He made more than 2000 images for over 52 publications.

Unfortunately, Paris wasn’t really a safe place for anarchists. In 1894, the French President was murdered by the hands of an anarchist and Steinlen had to flee to Norway to wait for the paranoia to die out. A lot of anarchists were arrested that year. But Steinlen came back, and in 1901 he became a French citizen. No more of that evil immigrant rhetoric. Paris was now his home, which was a good thing, because the city clearly had the best cats in the country.