a cat smile

public domain

Sunday night has rolled around all too soon, and I am sleepy. What I would like to do is grab a kitty and tuck myself in. Hopefully when I do, I will get a smile like this out of whichever feline deigns to snuggle. This is Julie Manet, also known as Child with Cat; it's Renoir's 1887 portrait of Berthe Morisot's daughter. You may enjoy it at the Musee d'Orsay.

Berthe Morisot was married to Eugene Manet, brother of the painter Edouard Manet, but notice it was their good friend Renoir who got the commission to paint their young daughter. I think I'd have done the same. Manet, for all his excellence, has a certain grey pragmatism in his portrayal of people. I wouldn't care to sign my child up for that worldview too early (it'll come soon enough, more than likely). No, I prefer the tender, spring and summer palette of Renoir, and the kind spirit that led him to find the loving detail. Witness, once more, the grin on that cat. And a goodnight to all Museum friends.