Artistic Cats - Tapa dura

Cats do not just influence hearth and home -- they have also been at the 'clawing-edge' of the artistic world: a colourful paw has been placed in all cultures from Mesopotamia to the Mayan. Their prints are to be found in Egyptian tombs and they have scratched impressive carvings in Greek and Roman Temples. Phidias, known as 'Fluffiarse' to his apprentices , carved the wonderful freize of the Parthenon of Athens. 'Unknown' of Thebes was assisted by his brother 'Also-Unknown' and their slave, 'Anony-mouse'. No devoted monk of the Dark Ages was without a cat (like Brother Felix) adding an interesting flourish to an illuminated manuscript. Now you can judge the legacies of the world's great cats: Rafurreal, Furmeer of Delft, Frans-hissco Goya, Clawed Monet and Purrblo Picasso to name but a few in this gallery of feline art history!

Heather Hacking is a water colour artist. She adores cats and lives in London. She is the author of Historical Cats and How Cats Conquered the World.