French School, 19th Century Rococo Revival

Artist: French School, 19th Century Rococo Revival.
Title: Playful Cats.
Medium: Oil on wooden panel.
Framed Size: Height 33 cm x Width 38 cm x Depth 6 cm.
Image Size: Height 15.5 cm x Width 19.5 cm.
Condition: The oil sketch is in good overall condition, it is varnished with some marks to the surface commensurate with the age and nature of the work. The frame is not original to the painting but has been made from a period moulding.
Provenance: Private Collection Sydney.

About: A 19th Century French, Rococo Revival period oil sketch of a child playing with cats. Possibly a study for a larger work with areas of the painting appearing more finished than others. The work takes artistic cues from the Rocco greats François Boucher and Jean-Honoré Fragonard, adopting a sympathetic approach to pallet, subject and mood, however still identifying with the popular 19th-century French contemporaries being Émile Munier and Alfred-Arthur Brunel de Neuville.

This is specifically evident in relation to the depiction of cats. The French Enlightenment allowed cats and kittens to become an increasingly appealing and commercially viable subject for both French 18th and later 19th-century artists, this was mainly due to the changing attitudes toward the importance of the domestic cat as part of the family unit and away from superstitious beliefs and associations with the lower classes. The cat was now seen as a symbol of high society and intellectual prowess. This is a delightful spontaneous sketch by a pleasing and very competent hand.