Henriëtte Ronner-Knip (1821-1909) - Stilleven met kat en drie kittens

Henriëtte Ronner-Knip (Amsterdam, May 31, 1821 – February 28, 1909) was a Dutch-Belgian painter specialised in romantic animal paintings. She is best known for her paintings of cats, which were very popular at the end of the 19th century. She signed her paintings after her marriage with "Henriëtte Ronner". Her famous scenes with long-haired cats in the middle-class salons were usually only created after 1870. It is mainly these scenes with their phenomenal texture rendering and their anecdotal character that gave Henriëtte Ronner her lasting fame. Knip had a lot of success at the triennial "salons" in Belgium and the Exhibitions of Living Masters in the Netherlands, but also in all major European, American and Australian cities. She received many silver and gold honorary metals; she became a knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau in 1901. Age brought with it some celebrations: in 1886, the Rotterdam Art Circle organised a solo exhibition of 80 works to mark her 65th birthday. The Fine Arts Society in London followed in 1890 with a retrospective of 113 works, "Paintings of the Animal Life by H. Ronner". The artwork offered comes from a company collection. The monograph shown is intended to illustrate her paintings and watercolours. The frame is handmade, has gold-coloured ornaments and is worked along the edges. The painting was made in 1893.