Thursday 12 May 2011

101 posts !

Louis Wain: The Man Who Drew Cats

Repost from: http://www.dangerousminds.net/comments/louis_wain_the_man_who_drew_cats/

Often held up as THE classic example of a schizophrenic artist, in recent decades there has come to be greater respect for the talents of Victorian-era illustrator of anthropomorphic cats, Louis Wain.

Wain’s famous felines were born of his efforts to amuse his wife as she was dying of breast cancer. Wain would draw their cat, Peter, with eyeglasses, pretending to read. This style was developed over the years and eventually Wain’s cats began to walk upright and wear contemporary clothes. They engaged in activities like smoking, fishing, playing musical instruments and having tea parties.

In the final years of his life, Wain’s cats became more abstract and less whimsical. His once playful cats began to resemble fearsome, almost kaleidoscopic, Hindu deities. Many psychological textbooks feature drawings from various stages in the artist’s career to show the progression of Wain’s schizophrenia.


Its crazy to actually track someones decent into the depths of schizophrenia through their artistic flare. But certainly does make for some amazing paintings.


No comments:

Post a Comment