The fat red cat is new star Russian Internet. Artist Svetlana Petrova from St. Petersburg inserts images of her cat Zarathustra into paintings by Rembrandt, Velazquez and Titian. So, for example, in a new interpretation of Rembrandt's famous painting "Danae" of 1636, Zarathustra lies on the bed instead of the girl.
Svetlana is known for her hometown as the founder of the holiday street art and festival of animation art "Multivision". For several months, she has been publishing remixes of famous paintings on her blog, into which images of Zarathustra are inserted using Photoshop. “My art friends called me crazy,” she says of her first reaction.
Zarathustra lived with his mother Svetlana for many years. When she died, Svetlana took the animal to her. A friend suggested using a cat for art. Then the artist, using Photoshop, tried to insert images of Zarathustra into classical paintings. The result was so funny that she decided to continue. When Svetlana sent remixes to e-mail to my friends, artists and gallery owners, they liked it. “It inspired me. I love to make people laugh,” says Svetlana.
Adapted from spiegel.de
One of the main mysteries of world art has been solved! The secret of Mona Lisa's half-smile, which for centuries excited the best minds of mankind, turned out to be easy prey for the cat Zarathustra and his mistress, the Russian artist Svetlana Petrova.
Mona Lisa with a cat and other surprises
It's simple: the famous Mona Lisa smiles so mysteriously, because she is holding a charming red cat in her arms.
Have you been to the Louvre and seen with your own eyes Gioconda without Zarathustra? The hostess is sure: if Leonardo da Vinci had lived in our days, Mona Lisa would have appeared with a cat, as in this photo. Well, the artist could not resist the charm of her pet! As well as dozens of other outstanding painters.
The mistake of the universe and decided to correct Svetlana Petrova. Fortunately, her pet loves to take picture poses. She caught the right moments on the camera, then added simple computer manipulations. And so a charming red cat appeared in the paintings famous artists, moreover, he chose exclusively legendary canvases.
Here he is on the painting by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel.
Now in the role of a centaur in the masterpiece of Sandro Botticelli.
The cat does not disdain the role of a card player with Paul Cezanne.
And even haystacks on the canvas of Claude Monet.
But the pet looks especially harmonious in the role of the beautiful goddess Venus, the hostess is sure!
It doesn't matter that it's full. The main thing is the languor of the pose. This cannot be taken away from Zarathustra - especially after a delicious dinner.
This is a mustachioed "goddess" on Diego Velazquez's canvas "Venus in front of a mirror".
And this is again Botticelli - "The Birth of Venus".
And here is Titian's Venus and the Organist.
Zarathustra, apparently, turned his head to the last one so much that the artist got confused ... He has a cat and Venus herself - and her lover. Like in the painting "Venus of Urbino".
Lost his head from the cat and Claude Monet.
On the famous "Water Lilies" Zarathustra is depicted three times. And on the bridge, and on the shore, and in the water.
Three cats are also on the canvas "Time" by Salvador Dali.
Even the main muse of the surrealist Gala was not awarded such an honor!
But Ivan Shishkin turned out to be the most passionate fan of the purr.
Here is his famous "Morning in pine forest where there are 4 Zarathustras at once!
And it does not matter that the artists lived in different eras and in different countries. Such beauty, like that of her Zarathustra, is beyond time and space - Svetlana believes! You can’t refuse picturesque cats, and red ones in particular!
Tatyana Larionova
“If a picture excites rumors, and even animated ones, it means that there is something in it; therefore, art can play a role of a somewhat higher order than the decoration and fun of life.
(Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoy)
What do you mix your colors with? - "I mix them with my brains, sir." (Answer English artist John Opie)
"This lady can already choose who she impresses."
(Faina Ranevskaya about the Sistine Madonna)
In our paradoxical world, many people recognize the names of the world's masterpieces of painting only because they saw on the Internet a series of famous collages by St. Petersburg artist Svetlana Petrova, who posted photographs of her red cat Zarathustra on the famous paintings all times and genres.
Leonardo da Vinci. Mona Lisa
Impressive handsome and fat man Zarathustra became a celebrity and a favorite on all continents, and even turned into a character of the successful project "FatCatArt" and a well-known Internet meme - " Ready Mem«.
Did you know that Zarathustra got a follower - a cute domestic hedgehog with a cool name " Princess Perdita Pricklepants?
Now about celebrities in order.
Lucky for Zarathustra, definitely lucky! But he could easily disappear in bad weather on a St. Petersburg street, if the mother of the artist Svetlana Petrova had not taken pity on the tiny red lump and brought it to her home in 2005.
A photo:
AiF/ Yana Khvatova
Diego Velasquez. Equestrian portrait of Philip IV
Zarathustra is just a godsend for artists and photographers - when he sees a man with a camera, he goes to the middle of the room and poses with pleasure, perceiving the creative process as a game.
Now Zarathustra has photo shoots with professional photographers and even has a team to entertain him. And when a celebrity cat deigns to be out of sorts, then you have to wait for the desired expression of a cute cat face for months. Well, he's already a respectable gentleman for 12 years, probably tired of all this fuss.
Salvador Dali, The Persistence of Memory
Svetlana inserts digital images of the cat in Photoshop into famous paintings. Sometimes he replaces one of the original characters, and at other times the cat mysteriously appears in a wide variety of plots. Then the artist prints the collage and puts it on the canvas. Sometimes she paints on the details, using textured gels and oils to tie the images together as closely as possible.
Claude Monet, Bathing at the Bridge with Water Lilies
“Sometimes people don’t realize that this is not an original painting,” my friend went to the airport with a gift, one of my works framed in a museum style. And it was very difficult for her to prove to the customs officers that it was not an old work of art.
She tried to explain: “You think an 18th century artist would paint cats instead of horses.” She even had to scratch the painting with her nails to show that there was a print underneath the paint.”
Jan Vermeer of Delft, The Milkmaid and the Cat
According to Svetlana, Zarathustra is closest in spirit to the Russian audience, since he is a very kind, fat and somewhat fairy-tale character.
“Zarathustra has many admirers because he is associated with something positive, warm, cozy and fluffy, — says Svetlana Petrova. - He is red-haired and looks like a man himself. This is what attracts people!
Shishkin, Morning in a pine forest
And here is how wonderfully Zarathustra himself is presented on his website: "
« Our name is Zarathustra. We are a cat. We are the best cat in the world, according to our assistant, whom the profane for some reason call our mistress. By the will of a higher lot, we are deprived of base instincts, and all our afternoons (and we graciously love to eat) we are inclined to indulge in reflections on the High.
And we also love Art very, very, very much.
Our passion is to pose for great creators, only the great ones are able to appreciate our mighty stature and sublime soul.”
Zarathustra is good in paintings of various eras and styles. Under the spoiler, you can admire his other adventures.
New Adventures of Zarathustra the Cat
Rubens. Judgment of Paris
Botticelli, Spring
Vasnetsov, The Knight at the Crossroads
Van Dyck, Drunk Silenus Supported by Satyrs
Salvador Dali. Dream caused by the flight of a bee around a pomegranate, a second before awakening
Edward Mane. Bar at the Folies Bergère
Leonardo da Vinci. Lady with a cat pretending to be an ermine
Pieter Claesz, Still Life with a Cat Interested in Turkey Pie.
Titian. Venus with Organist and Cupid
Sandro Botticelli. Pallas and the cat (centaur)
Alexey Venetsianov. In field. Spring. Cats on the field.
Peter Paul Rubens. Three Graces
Ivan Argunov, Portrait of an unknown woman in a Russian costume and a famous cat in a veterinary collar
Paul Cezanne, Cat Poker Players
Edgar Degas Red-haired dancer. (Dancers on stage)
Vasily Pukirev, Unequal marriage. The people of Russia will be with the Cat, whether the people want it or not
Jan Vermeer, Girl with a Pearl Earring and a Ginger Cat
Jean-Leon Gerome, Cat Pygmalion and Galatea
Rubens. Judgment of Paris
Aivazovsky, The Ninth Wave, or The Ninth Life
Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Tower of Babel, 1565, diptych, part 2
Willem Claesz Heda, Breakfast with Crab. Kote and crabe. 1648
Michelangelo, Creation of the Cat
Botticelli, Spring
Karl Bryullov, Rider on the Cat
Titian, Venus of Urbino, Happy Together
Vasnetsov, The Knight at the Crossroads
Kazimir Malevich, Red Square, or the Suprematist Cat
And in the next story, I'll tell you about the funny successor (or rather imitator 🙂) of Zarathustra's cat - a hedgehog with a cool name Princess Perdita Pricklepants (Princess Perdita Pricklepants)
Note. This article uses photo materials, all rights to which belong to their authors, if you think that the publication of any photo violates your rights, please contact me using the form in the section, the photo will be deleted immediately.
How to make the legendary paintings of famous artists even better? Just add a cat. The creator of the art project FatCatArt, Svetlana Petrova, decided to change the usual ideas about the paintings of great artists, replacing the dull talk about classical art a fresh look at the work of great authors.
The main character of these works is Zarathustra the Cat. It is he who becomes the living embodiment of the idea that cats are a guide to the world of art. Looking at pictures with Zarathustra, a person recognizes the name of the original, learns new concepts and even begins to read the biography of the author. Thus, he plunges deeper into the environment of classical painting, learns its foundations and composition. Zarathustra the Cat himself received the term Ready Mem.
The project aroused wide interest among the Western public. Dissertations are written on it, and works are hung in world-famous museums. In addition, an exposition with the works of Svetlana Petrova was opened in St. Petersburg in July as part of the Graffest art forum. The author plans to restore 853 paintings and exhibit at the Rijksmuseum.
Meet Zarathustra, the cat who loves art. Its creative owner, Svetlana Petrova, decided to immortalize her fiery red fluffy, adding his image to the legendary portraits and priceless masterpieces of painting.
Zarathustra was inherited by Svetlana from her mother. The cat was very loved and had a great appetite, which served as the choice of the name of the photo project "Fat Cat Art" or "The Art of a Fat Cat".
“I am an artist by profession, and Zarathustra chose the right person to be his slave,” Svetlana jokes. “Now I have over 7,000 photos of this red-haired beast and he still loves to pose and twirl in front of the camera.”
Creating such paintings requires a lot of effort from the author. “Everything has to be done perfectly, without fuss. Sometimes it takes several months. I print out a photograph, and only then I draw pictures, trying to completely recreate the masterpieces of the great masters.
In these pictures, Svetlana seems to discover a new meaning. “Look at the famous Gioconda: she is posing for the artist, holding a cat in her hands. The cat is bored, and he is trying in every possible way to slip away. Everyone has seen this in life and more than once! Thus, through these paintings, my cat introduces people to the world of art in an easy, relaxed and funny way, showing that anyone can be creative, even an animal!
Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci (true version)
The Persistence of Memory, Salvador Dali
Jacques-Louis David, "Napoleon's Crossing of the Alps"
Edgar Degas, Ballet Class
David, The Death of Marat, Je suis Charlie
"Don't shoot the cartoonists!" The drawing was created in memory of the Charlie Hebdo journalists who were killed by terrorists in January 2015.
Andrea Mantegna, Oculus (ceiling frescoes)
Pygmalion and Galatea, Jean-Leon Gerome
Karl Bryullov, "Rider on ... a cat"
Jacob Jordaens, "Feast of Cats and People"
Carracci, "Perseus and the Cat"
Zarathustra in his studio
And here's something else interesting: Zarathustra sings instead of Marilyn Monroe in the remake of "Only a Cat in Jazz":
And another close-up in Sunset Boulevard II: