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painting of two cats and a catnip on a white backgroundpainting of three cats playing with each other on a white surface
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1634 - Zoology – Zoologica Specifica
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Estimate €400 - €600
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Description
Zoology – Zoologica Specifica Mind, Gottfried 2 works. Cats at play. Each a colour lithograph on vellum (with ‘James Whatman’ watermark and blind stamp). Each a colour lithograph on vellum (with ‘James Whatman’ watermark and blind stamp). Mounted in places onto a backing. Each approx. 14 × 20.5 cm. Each bearing the typographic inscription ‘publié pr. J. P. Lamy à Berne & Bâle’ on the backing. – Paper slightly yellowed and with subtle staining. Overall, a very good, nuanced print. Gottfried Mind, the self-taught artist from Bern known as the ‘Raphael of Cats’, ranks among the most original animal painters of the 1800s. Having grown up in the studio of the genre painter Sigmund Freudenberger, he turned, following the latter’s death in 1801, to the independent depiction of cats, which he captured on the basis of direct, long-standing domestic observation with a non-academic, yet astonishingly accurate knowledge of anatomy and behaviour. According to tradition, the honorary title is attributed to the portrait painter Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, whom Mind met in Bern in 1807; it spread rapidly throughout Europe via obituaries and specialist literature of the 19th century. As Mind himself worked exclusively in watercolour, his international fame is due to posthumous series of reproductions – alongside those by Brodtmann, Hegi and the Fleischer publishing house (Leipzig), the present series, printed on English Whatman vellum by the publisher J. P. Lamy (Bern/Basel), ranks among the early, high-quality reproductions of his original works. The two compositions depict two complementary variations of behaviour typical of cats. The first sheet brings together three cats with different coat patterns – a crouching tortoiseshell-and-white cat, an alert, upright grey-and-white tabby, and a red tabby lying in a crouching position – whose shared upward gaze is fixed on two flies flitting about: a subtle study of the visually triggered hunting instinct. The second sheet, conceived as a counterpart, depicts a tugging match over a strip of paper between a fully-grown red-tabby cat and two younger, tricolour-spotted cats (calico-white and calico), who are tussling over the strip in the typical back-to-back wrestling style of youthful prey-hunting play. In both prints, Mind combines precise zoological observation – coat pattern, posture, muscle tension – with the unadulterated humour of everyday cat scenes, which continues to lend his works their distinctive freshness to this day. 2 works. Playing Cats. Each colour lithograph on wove paper (with James Whatman watermark and blind stamp). Spot-mounted on backing. Each approx. 14 × 20.5 cm. Each inscribed typographically on the mount “publié pr. J. P. Lamy à Berne & Bâle.” - Paper lightly toned and faintly foxed. Overall very good, finely nuanced impression. Gottfried Mind, the self-taught Bernese artist known as the ‘Raphael of Cats’, ranks among the most singular animal painters of around 1800. Trained in the studio of the genre painter Sigmund Freudenberger, he turned to depicting cats independently following Freudenberger’s death in 1801, capturing them with a non-academic yet astonishingly accurate understanding of anatomy and behaviour, drawn from years of close domestic observation. Tradition attributes the honorary title to the portrait painter Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, who met Mind in Bern in 1807; it spread rapidly across Europe through nineteenth-century obituaries and specialist literature. Since Mind himself worked exclusively in watercolour, his international fame rests on posthumous series of reproductive prints – alongside those by Brodtmann, Hegi, and the Fleischer publishing house (Leipzig); the present series, printed on English Whatman wove paper by the publisher J. P. Lamy (Bern/Basel), ranks among the early, high-quality reproductions of his designs. The two compositions depict complementary variations of characteristic feline behaviour. The first sheet features three cats with different coats – a crouching tortoiseshell-and-white, an alertly upright grey-and-white tabby, and a red tabby lying in a stalking crouch – all three gazing upwards together at two darting flies: a fine study of the hunting instinct triggered by sight. The second, conceived as its companion piece, shows a tug-of-war over a strip of paper between a fully-grown red tabby cat and two younger, tricoloured kittens (tortoiseshell-and-white and calico), wrestling on their backs over the strip in the manner typical of juvenile predatory play. In both prints, Mind combines precise zoological observation – coat markings, posture, muscular tension – with the unaffected humour of everyday feline scenes, lending his works their enduring freshness. This lot is subject to standard tax. A 24.95% buyer’s premium is payable on the hammer price, and 7% (Books and Art) or 19% VAT (Manuscripts, Screenprints, Offset Prints, Photographs) is payable on the final invoice amount within the European Union. This lot is subject to the standard tax regime. A 24.95% buyer’s premium applies to the hammer price, and 7% (books and art) or 19% VAT (manuscripts, screen prints, offset prints and photographs) applies to the final invoice amount within the European Union.
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About the sale Valuable books, prints, historical photographs
Auction location
Auction time 10/24/2026 at 10:00 AM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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