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拍品專文
A Tortoiseshell and white cat watches her two kittens, one black, drinking from a saucer of milk, the other coloured like herself, waiting its turn. A wickerwork basket filled with straw, in which the kittens may have made their nest, and a large white bowl, complete the scene.
Walter Osborne's father, William was an animal painter, specializing in dog and genre subjects. Walter too, often included animals in his paintings, especially in his naturalistic genre scenes of the 1880s. He was a brilliant painter of small dogs, with an ability to bring the pets to life. Cats appear less frequently, for example, in Cupboard Love, circa 1886, but with no less skill or affection.
In the present picture, he captures well the gentleness of the mother cat, her proud, proprietorial gaze towards her kittens, and their fluffy softness. Although his animal subjects are less sentimental and more naturalistic than his father's, such pictures would obviously appeal to late 19th century sentiment.
Pastel was a medium used only occasionally by Osborne, for instance in his excellent study, Daffodils, 1888 (formerly, Gory Gallery, Dublin). However, this medium seems to suit him perfectly, allowing him to combine a crispness of drawing with the soft-textures and blurred edges found in some of his paintings. The deft strokes with which the cat's white front and the kitten's white legs are rendered, convey a living quality to the subject. With similar skill Osborne conveys the texture of the basket and the loose strands of straw.
Julian Campbell
Walter Osborne's father, William was an animal painter, specializing in dog and genre subjects. Walter too, often included animals in his paintings, especially in his naturalistic genre scenes of the 1880s. He was a brilliant painter of small dogs, with an ability to bring the pets to life. Cats appear less frequently, for example, in Cupboard Love, circa 1886, but with no less skill or affection.
In the present picture, he captures well the gentleness of the mother cat, her proud, proprietorial gaze towards her kittens, and their fluffy softness. Although his animal subjects are less sentimental and more naturalistic than his father's, such pictures would obviously appeal to late 19th century sentiment.
Pastel was a medium used only occasionally by Osborne, for instance in his excellent study, Daffodils, 1888 (formerly, Gory Gallery, Dublin). However, this medium seems to suit him perfectly, allowing him to combine a crispness of drawing with the soft-textures and blurred edges found in some of his paintings. The deft strokes with which the cat's white front and the kitten's white legs are rendered, convey a living quality to the subject. With similar skill Osborne conveys the texture of the basket and the loose strands of straw.
Julian Campbell