Monet's Cat

 

Monet's Cat by Lily Murray & Becky Cameron (Lomart 2020) | Illustration © 2020 by Becky Cameron

 

“Everyone discusses my art and pretends to understand, as if it were necessary to understand, when it is simply necessary to love.”

— Claude Monet

 When Noah started at first school, I was surprised - and delighted - to see the corridors decorated with children's art inspired by the 'great' artists.

Historically significant painters such as van Gogh, Kandinsky, Picasso - and French Impressionist Claude Monet.

You know when I first discovered Monet? When I was studying Art History A-Level. Thanks to my dad, I was au fait with the Old Masters - but Monet hadn't shown up on my radar.

"You'll recognise Monet's work from biscuit tins and chocolate boxes," decried my art teacher, Mrs B. She was right - I did! But I had no idea about his work, or what it represented.

I eventually got to connect with Monet's work in Paris. Being surrounded by his enormous (and iconic) waterlily paintings at the Musée de l'Orangerie was a genuinely memorable - and serene experience. (Even though I was ticked off by the attendant for leaning in too close!)

 My Good to Read recommendation this week introduces young children to explore and enjoy Monet's work - with the help of a magical cat!

I discovered it on Instagram and had to get a copy myself - it's Monet's Cat by Lily Murray and Becky Cameron (Lomart, 2020)

I love how the book begins:

 

Monet was a famous painter with a magic cat. Her name was Chika.

 

Brilliant! The author dispenses with formalities and explanations - and grabs our attention with Chika, the magic cat!

 

She was made of delicate pottery, and lay on a cushion, cold and still, until… Monet tapped her three times with his paintbrush. Then Chika came alive!

 

Monet's Cat by Lily Murray & Becky Cameron (Lomart 2020) | Illustration © 2020 by Becky Cameron

 

And guess what? Monet really did have a ceramic cat: a little white figurine, curled up with its eyes closed. Author Murray was inspired to write the story when she read an article reporting that the sculpture (sold after Monet's death and which consequently vanished) had recently been auctioned. The buyer - a Japanese dealer - then 'generously donated it to the Fondation Claude Monet, which runs the Giverny house and garden.' . The cat was returned to the house, 'where it now sleeps once more on a cushion in the dining room'.

Exactly where Monet kept it, ninety years earlier.

Photographs of Claude Monet reveal he was visually appealing - and Cameron has done him proud! She portrays him as a cheerful (though slightly harassed) grampa-come-Santa figure. Rotund and ruddy-cheeked, wearing a loose-fitting suit, with braces and a tatty straw hat! 

 

Image source: Widewalls

 

Chika, meanwhile, is full of feline attitude! 

I love the sense of resignation when Monet spots her, inside his painting (well, she is magical, after all!).

 

"Chika!" said Monet. "Come out of there."

But Chika wasn't listening.

"Oh dear," sighed Monet. "Here we go."

 

Monet's Cat by Lily Murray & Becky Cameron (Lomart 2020) | Text © 2020 by Lily Murray | Illustration © 2020 by Becky Cameron

 

Illustrator Cameron visited The National Gallery for a closer look at some of Monet's original paintings:

 

"I have always loved Monet's work but knowing I would have to recreate them was both daunting and exciting! I am no oil painter but I decided I needed to use materials that could be applied quite thickly and layered up."

 

Cameron's exploration helped her figure out how to show two worlds in the same book - one real, the other imagined. 

 

"I used a mixture of ink and watercolour for Monet and Chika in the real world and then more textured gouache and soft pastels to recreate Monet's paintings. Monet and Chika are drawn in the same style throughout the book so you can differentiate them from the objects and characters in the paintings.”

 

Cameron's decision paid off - her use of gouache and pastel captures the essence of Monet's oil paintings without looking like poor imitations, which is no mean feat!

 

Monet's Cat by Lily Murray & Becky Cameron (Lomart 2020) | Illustration © 2020 by Becky Cameron

 

After lunch, naughty Chika leaps out of that painting, and into the next - Monet's depiction of the station at Saint-Lazare.

 

…The thrill of the engines. The clanking metal. The rushing feet.

 

Monet chases Chika through the steam and the smoke, but the little cat disappears into the busy crowds.

 

"Stop that cat!" called the stationmaster, blowing his whistle.

 

Too late - Chika boards a train, and off it puffs to the the beach at Trouville, where the artist finally catches his cat, and they share an ice cream on the sand.

 

Monet's Cat by Lily Murray & Becky Cameron (Lomart 2020) | Illustration © 2020 by Becky Cameron

 

"I don't want our adventure to end quite yet," said Monet. "Let's visit one more painting."

 

Their final destination is none other than Monet's beloved garden at Giverny. -a fitting climax to the tour of Monet’s work.

‘It is in Giverny that you should see Monet in order to know him,' wrote his friend and champion, the French art critic, Gustave Geffroy, 'his character, his taste for life, his intimate nature. This house and this garden, it is also a masterpiece, and Monet has put all his life into creating and perfecting it.’

Monet and his magic cat stand look out across his famous waterlilies from the arched Japanese bridge. "It's so peaceful," remarks Monet.

 

Monet's Cat by Lily Murray & Becky Cameron (Lomart 2020) | Illustration © 2020 by Becky Cameron

 

He speaks too soon: The mischievous Chika leaps into the lilypond after a frog - then trots inside, leaving a trail of muddy pawprints through the house!

Murray's magical tale has a satisfying ending: With three taps of his paintbrush, Monet transforms Chika back to her former, 'delicate pottery' self. Cool and still once more, asleep on her cushion - lit by the setting sun.

 

"What beautiful light," said Monet, picking up his paints.

 

The book concludes with photographs of the Monet paintings that Chika has been romping through. I thought this was a nice touch - and it put Chika's adventures into context. Those paintings are:

The Boardwalk on the Beach at Trouville, 1870;

The Luncheon, 1873;

The Gare St-Lazare, 1877;

The Water Lily Pond, 1899.

Here's why Monet's Cat is Good to Read

It has excellent characterisation.

It introduces children to a significant artist and art movement (and that cheeky cat makes it fun)

It’s magical

It provides plenty of scope for discussion (especially when Monet looks back at his paintings which Chika leaves in 'a terrible mess’.

It presents the paintings as invitations into stories, encouraging us to be playful and childlike.

Monet's Cat is a simple story - effectively a game of chase (or hide and seek). But the quality of writing (for example, Flags fluttered, parasols twirled and clouds raced across the sky), and its unique subject matter put it on top. And it's so imaginative! I mean, it would have been impressive enough if the story simply took us 'behind the scenes' of Monet's famous paintings. The fact that Murray ties that idea in with Monet's actual ceramic cat - and then introduces that magical element - is a stroke of genius! Paired with Cameron's lively characterisation and confident techniques, and we have a story worth sharing.

Good to Read

Picture books about famous artists

Monet’s Cat by Lily Murray and Becky Cameron (Lomart, 2020)

The Boy Who Bit Picasso by Antony Penrose (Thames & Hudson, 2010)

Henri’s Scissors by Jeanette Winter (Beach Lane, 2013)

  

This is a charming story that will help children get interested in Monet and other artists/masters. The illustrations are incredibly done by Becky Cameron, who has recreated Monet's masterpieces and brought them to life for the child reader. A delight from beginning to end!

- C. Cotteril


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*I earn commission from this link #adSourcesMonet’s Cat by Lily Murray and Becky Cameron (Lomart, 2020) The Most Famous Claude Monet Paintings Everybody Adores (Widewalls, june 7 2014) Claude Monet's Glazed Biscuit Kitty Cat Returns to the Artist's Home (Jason Daley, The Smithsonian, July 24, 2018)Monet's beloved pottery cat comes to life in children's book (Martin Bailey, The Art Newspaper, february 19, 2020)Japanese Cat Returns to Claude Monet’s House After 90 Years (Mina Mitsui, Japan Forward, september 3, 2018)© 2020 BY TIM WARNES (UNLESS OTHERWISE ATTRIBUTED)****USE OF THIRD PARTY COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL FALLS UNDER FAIR USE/FAIR DEALING PRACTICE.