Courtyard Cats

by Steve Henderson

Original - Sold

Price

Not Specified

Dimensions

20.000 x 20.000 inches

Title

Courtyard Cats

Artist

Steve Henderson

Medium

Painting - Watercolor On Paper

Description

Cats take care of themselves. Quite well.

You can be sure that when you see a cat at rest or repose, it is in prime real estate, whether the cat is perched atop a wall overlooking its kingdom, tucked in a dark hollow from which it can espy in safety, or lounging about the yard or courtyard, nestled upon a chair or commandeering a section of the staircase.

Cats have the unique ability to find the warmest, coziest, out of the breeziest, perfectly in the sunniest, safest, most comfy spot available, and if they’re not there, they’re either mousing, playing, or looking for their next venue.

So it is with the kitties of the artwork, Courtyard Cats. Two feline friends groom themselves on a warm day in Civita di Bagnoregio, Italy, an historical hilltop town accessible only by a long footbridge and noted for its cobblestoned streets, tucked away plant-filled courtyards, and stone and masonry homes that go back centuries.

It’s a quiet corner where the kitties are, or else they wouldn’t be here, and the grooming is concentrated and intense. And yet not so intense that if you stop too long or get too close, they won’t pause in their activity and give you that distinctive feline gaze.

“Possibly,” their eyes laconically say, “I might let you get closer and pet me.

“And then just as possibly . . . I might not.”

The community cats of Civita di Bagnoregio, which is also known as “one of the most beautiful cities in Italy,”
are either pets, with owners and windowsills of their own, or they are street cats, but street cats with a difference. There are few residents in this town, but of those, several put out bowls of food and water for the cats of the neighborhood, ensuring that even if they are homeless, they still have a home.

Uploaded

February 12th, 2024

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