Here at the Sartle office, we’ve decided to celebrate Friday the 13th by rounding up 13 of our favorite black cats in art history. (Peppered with quotes from Sabrina the Teenage Witch’s feline star, Salem.)
(We’d also like to point out that 13 is Taylor Swift’s lucky number. She was born on the 13th, turned 13 on Friday the 13th, her first album went gold in 13 weeks, and her first #1 song had a 13-second intro. So…there’s that.)
1. Our most iconic painting on the list: Olympia by Édouard Manet. That cat isn’t for the faint of heart.
2. Now for something a little bit more abstract. Here’s Fernand Léger’s Woman with a Cat. Those soulless eyes…
3. Frida Kahlo is coming in hot with her Self Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird. Are black monkeys bad luck too?
4. Here’s Marguerite with a Black Cat by Henri Matisse. The green slime on her forehead makes us wonder if her Friday the 13th ended in a zombie attack.
5. Will Barnet’s Woman and Cats seems surprisingly chill about being surrounded by little bad luck magnets. Or maybe they killed her.
6. The Bridge by Carl Olof Larsson. That cat is totally waiting for the dude on the bridge to get eaten by a troll.
7. Holy balls. This is Arthur Rackham’s By day she made herself into a cat. Moving swiftly on before we get clawed to smithereens.
8. Now for something a little bit more gentle… here’s Portrait of an Elegant Lady with her Black Cat by Harijs Ēberšteins. The cacti in the background are as sharp as that cat’s unforgiving gaze.
9. Woman With Cat by Kees von Dongen: in which a sultry woman makes out with a black cat. Or maybe he’s sucking out her soul.
10. No spooky compilation would be complete without Salvador Dalí. This amazing portrait was taken by Charles Hewitt.
11. Here’s Black Cat by Hishida Shunsō. Actually kind of cute?
12. Greenwich Village Backyard by John Sloan. More disturbing than the cats is that little clown girl in the window. We do not approve.
13. Last but not least is Max Beckmann’s Woman with Cat. Her cat only has one eye and is therefore imbued with extra magical powers.
If you made it through all 13 art history black cats without falling down a staircase or tripping on your shoelaces then you’re officially immune to bad luck and we salute you.
And remember…black cats need love too!
by Louisa and dedicated with love to Kat the black cat.
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