The Impressionists set out to depict the every day scenes of French Life in a way that would revolutionise the art world pet portraits however, were not noted subjects for the impressionist painter, probably being considered unworthy of the artists attention.

Despite the artists unwillingness to dwell on pet art, there is someone that did (in an off-hand way) venture into this field.

Manet, the grand statesman of French Impressionists and creator of such ground breaking paintings such as “Olympia” and “Le Dejeuner sur l’herbe”, made many sketches and water colours of his family cat Zizi. Zizi also turned up in a portrait of his wife, Suzanne Leenhoff, whom he married in 1863. This portrait, called “Woman with Cat”, was probably painted after Manets’ return from Rueil near Paris between 1880 and 1802, from where he had spent the summer with his wife. Nonetheless, many believe it incomplete and that he would have been working on up to the point when he died in 1883. At any rate, it does show the artists’ expert use of seemingly random strokes of bold colour, typical of his sketch technique.

Another notable around this time that made studies of animals was Degas, although he never considered himself part of the impressionism movement, preferring to call himself “the classical painter of modern life”. Degas made many studies and paintings at the horse races, savouring the portrayal of motion amongst the thoroughbreds preparing to race. Degas was able to capture the visually satisfying moment within the flow of movement, whether they were the steps and leaps of the ballet dancers or that of the horses on the turf.

This great ability to be able to correctly ’see’ the fleeting moment in an ever-changing scene, gave his paintings a reality that contemporaries couldn’t. Consider Gericaults’ engraving of an English racehorse which has all four legs out backwards and forwards, a manner believed to be true until Degas showed us differently!