Tuesday 24th December - On the Sofa

 Well, here we are and it's the last day of Catvent!  By the time I post this, it will no doubt be Christmas day somewhere in the world (I have my Father Christmas tracking page open so I can watch him visiting everyone) so let's crack on with the final Catvent of the year,,,

Mr Tibbles wishes she'd put some damn clothes on.

When I was selecting paintings for this year, I found lots that were interesting, had great back stories and gave me the chance to research models and artists and make silly comments about cats, which is always a pleasure.  However, for my final painting, I had to choose this one...

On the Sofa (1902) Vittorio Matteo Corcos

Look at how gorgeous she is! The girl isn't bad either and I really hope I can find that colour hair dye because everything is shiny and luxurious and wonderful. I would very much like to spend Christmas Eve in a similar position.  Let's enter the shiny world of Vittorio Matteo Corcos...

Self Portrait (1913)

What a big moustache! I found the lot essay for a gorgeous painting at Christies very illuminating and raises the question we looked at early this month with Edwin Long - how does a very successful artist drop from the public consciousness? Vittorio and his magnificent moustache did some of the most exquisite paintings and was famous not only in his homeland of Italy, but also over in England - in The Bystander in 1910, he is giving his opinion on the extravagances of the Portuguese royal family.  He was a society portrait painter, which, I admit, can give you a shelf-life - when your subjects stop being famous, so do you.  I saw with nervous interest that one of Corcos's subjects was Mussolini, and this isn't Fascist-vent thank you, but as Corcos was Jewish then whole situation is a lot more complicated and I think we can move on.  He seems to have painted all sorts of rich people who were no doubt dodgy (including the extravagant Queen Amelia and her spending problems in Portugal) but his portraits are not why we are here.  We are here for pretty girls, books and idleness!

An Afternoon on the Porch (1895)

These two look extremely idle and I thoroughly approve.  What a gorgeous terrace with the sunshine, greenery and a general feeling of ease.  The couple are actually Corcos's step children, which is unnecessary context but changes the mood of the piece a little, I think. It becomes a comment on the household and not just the couple, if you know what I mean.  Anyway, there is a feeling of peace, intellect and most of all, reading.  The young man has a newspaper and the lass has a stack of books.  Now, about those books...

Dreams (1896)

I definitely know this painting and have used it before on the blog because it is gorgeous! The lighting! The sleeves! The yellow books, again - I think we all know that they are a sign of decadence, of illicit reading material, whether it be The Yellow Book or the yellow-covered books that indicated naughty French novels. Either way, it's a decadent move that leads to this sort of thing...

After the Ball (1899) Ramon Casas

Honestly, that painting represents most of my life goals. This young lady has flaked out after an evening of decadent dancing and the suchlike and is now on her comfy sofa with her book which is definitely yellow. What I like about Casas and Corcos is that women read the books, and in Corcos especially, these women are well dressed and serious looking.  They are taking their debauched literature seriously and have enviable to-be-read piles. The women in Corcos's pictures look back at us as equals, even when they are lounging about in their satin-y boudoirs.  Talking of our pink satin lass, I think this is probably her too...

Girl with a Little Dog (c.1890s)

I might suggest that she is now up the other end of her day bed/sofa-thing and is now playing with a terrier who is also wearing a pink satin ribbon.  This one looks likely too...

Girl with a Little Dog (1890s)

I think that is the same frock again but her boob seems to have popped out a smidge. I love the wall behind with the art nouveau-y design and she seems to have acquired a new shiny sofa. I bet it is hard to sit still on any furniture with that amount of slide-y fabric - you'd be no sooner on than off. I love these silly pink, Fragonard-y frivolities and the one with the little kitten is particularly good as I like the pop of blue from the ribbon on its collar. Just for balance, he also did chaps too...

Portrait of a Man, possibly Cesare Formilli (1890)

Like a lot of artists, Corcos had separate moods for different purposes - he does formal, respectful portraits, he does thoughtful paintings of intelligent women and he does frilly fantasies.  There are cross-overs, obviously - some of the portraits are frilly - but he displays amply that an artist has to eat as well as create world-reflecting great art.

Waiting by the Fountain (1896)

It is nice to finish on such a beautiful note, and you'll be pleased to hear that Corcos died in his 70s after a long, success career.  His work feels reminiscent of Singer Sargent, Manet, fashion photography and all stylish and positive things and I especially love his paintings of those headstrong young women, thinking for themselves and getting out in the world with their books and ideas. This Christmas I will emulate a Corcos girl and stay in on my sofa with my dog and cat (although I'll keep my bits and pieces inside my jumper as it's a bit chilly for that) and my big stack of books and have a jolly nice time. May you all have the same.

Happy Christmas to you all and many thanks for your company over the last 24 days.  May the next few days be peaceful, full of good food, warm blankets and lots of giggles and I'll catch up with you again soon.