She Added Her Fat Cat Into Classical Paintings

TAKING EXISTING ARTWORKS AND ADDING stuff in is a pretty worthy past-time. It’s interesting, it’s fun, and you get to see what paintings would have looked like if your favorite artists were born with a fascination for cats.

And that’s what Russian artist Svetlana Petrova did, using her fat ginger cat as a model. Her project, known as “Paintings Made Better With Cats” or simply “Fat Cat Art“, has since gained worldwide acclaim.

But though her painting-renovations may seem lighthearted, and it makes you want to laugh, the background behind how she got started is far from a happy one…

I lost my mother in 2008 and she left me Zarathustra. I got horrible depression after her death and for two years I was unable to do something creative. By chance a friend asked me ‘why don’t you make an art project with your cat because he’s so funny’.

Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa, True version | Fat Orange Ginger Cat Paintings Photobombing Famous Masterpieces — Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa, True version

Adriaen van Utrecht, Still Life | Fat Orange Ginger Cat Paintings Photobombing Famous Masterpieces — Adriaen van Utrecht, Still Life

Botticelli, Pallas and the Cat | Fat Orange Ginger Cat Paintings Photobombing Famous Masterpieces — Botticelli, Pallas and the Cat

I’ve had cats before and included them in my work, like playing in THEATER shows and I’ve made costumes for them. But I thought, ‘What can I do with Zarathustra, because my mother spoilt him and he’s so fat’.

Botticelli, The Birth of Venus | Fat Orange Ginger Cat Paintings Photobombing Famous Masterpieces — Botticelli, The Birth of Venus

Caravaggio, Bacchus: Wine vs Catnip | Fat Orange Ginger Cat Paintings Photobombing Famous Masterpieces — Caravaggio, Bacchus: Wine vs Catnip

Paul Cézanne, The Cat Card Players | Fat Orange Ginger Cat Paintings Photobombing Famous Masterpieces — Paul Cézanne, The Cat Card Players

Zarathustra likes posing and is a really intelligent cat. He likes to lie on his back and make strange faces like he’s speaking with somebody, so I began to take photos of him and inserted them into paintings.

Jacques-Louis David, Napoleon Crossing the Alps | Fat Orange Ginger Cat Paintings Photobombing Famous Masterpieces — Jacques-Louis David, Napoleon Crossing the Alps

Leonardo da Vinci. Lady with a Cat pretending to be an Ermine | Fat Orange Ginger Cat Paintings Photobombing Famous Masterpieces — Leonardo da Vinci. Lady with a Cat pretending to be an Ermine

Michelangelo, The Creation of cAt-dam | Fat Orange Ginger Cat Paintings Photobombing Famous Masterpieces — Michelangelo, The Creation of cAt-dam

I liked the result so I sent it to some friends, other artists and galleries. Everyone laughed so much, so I made a website, but then forgot about it because I had another project.

Rembrandt, Danae | Fat Orange Ginger Cat Paintings Photobombing Famous Masterpieces — Rembrandt, Danae

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, The Night Watch | Fat Orange Ginger Cat Paintings Photobombing Famous Masterpieces — Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, The Night Watch

After a few months, another friend saw my cat work in my albums and asked why I had it. I told him it was my cat and he said: ‘Your cat is all over the internet!’

Diego Velazquez, Philip IV on Catback | Fat Orange Ginger Cat Paintings Photobombing Famous Masterpieces — Diego Velazquez, Philip IV on Catback

Johannes Vermeer, The Kitchen Maid and the Cat | Fat Orange Ginger Cat Paintings Photobombing Famous Masterpieces — Johannes Vermeer, The Kitchen Maid and the Cat

Vasnetsov, The Russian Hero Cat | Fat Orange Ginger Cat Paintings Photobombing Famous Masterpieces — Vasnetsov, The Russian Hero Cat

Emanuel Leutze, “Washington Crossing the Delaware in a boat piloted by the Fat Cat” | Fat Orange Ginger Cat Paintings Photobombing Famous Masterpieces — Emanuel Leutze, “Washington Crossing the Delaware”

John Trumbull, Declaration of Independence | Fat Orange Ginger Cat Paintings Photobombing Famous Masterpieces — John Trumbull, Declaration of Independence

Sir Henry Raeburn, Skating Minister and Skating Cat. | Fat Orange Ginger Cat Paintings Photobombing Famous Masterpieces — Sir Henry Raeburn, Skating Minister and Skating Cat.

It’s not the first time an artist’s pet has helped them recover from a creative slump and times of depression. Indeed, you might even say that pets and art go well together, like pizza and pasta.

If you’re an artist and you’re having a hard time getting your creative vibes back, maybe it’s time to go out, capture a wild bunny, and turn it into a pet. Who knows what masterpieces you’ll come up with…

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