cat jumps and rips 17th century painting and how that relates to simon cat

Photo: My studio cat, Simon, sitting on some of my cut out collage papers that I taped to a temporary clear plastic sheet. He can't harm these, rarer still that I placed anything on the floor, so it was a Kodak moment for us, lol. 

I can't imagine how I'd feel if Simon were to rip through a painting, destroying it almost immediately, like Padme did. Padme destroyed a 17th century painting! 

My first question would be "where was the painting that a cat could jump or claw it?"

Maybe it was unavoidable. Maybe the painting was leaning against the wall, which is a usual way of storing a painting. I feel for this man. Oh, I just "met" him recently, too, as I just discovered the BBC show "Fake or Fortune" in Netflix!  

Cats are cats. I try to have spaces in my studio for Simon to be safe. He has his own water dish, a few cubby-like spaces where I don't mind him....I try to make sure there isn't much he can break, etc. that is easy for him to access. He has tried to drink my paint water...but he's yet to walk all over a painting because I don't leave them around for him. 

As a painter, I've used paper, canvas, and wood for my designs. My favorite is wood, followed by paper, and distant last is canvas. If my cat, or yours, destroys a painting by me, maybe I can repair it...but it's probably best to simply replace it. Then again, my artwork isn't a few hundred years old, yet! 

Oh, writing of wood surfaces, my pet paintings are all on wood. The worst your cat or dog can do to protest his painting is scratch it. Consider getting your cat (or dog's) portrait by getting my free book about how called "How to Hire a Pet Portrait Artist that Works for You" by clicking on this paragraph. 

What would you do if your cat destroyed a piece of artwork you love? 

The original article about Padme, his photo, and his painting adventure is below, with the link, too. It's totally worth a click! 

Smiles, with paint on my hands,
Angeline

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/01/05/bbc-art-expert-tells-rare-5000-painting-john-michael-wright/

BBC art expert reveals rare painting worth thousands of pounds was destroyed by his cat


 Helena Horton 
5 JANUARY 2019 • 2:06PM
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A BBC arts experts has revealed how his cat wrecked a rare masterpiece painted by one of his favourite artists.
Dr Bendor Grosvenor, who appeared in five seasons of Fake or Fortune, paid more than £5,000 for a painting by 17th century portrait artist John Michael Wright, which was clawed by his pet Padme.
He was busy restoring the artwork after two small tears had formed because a cold winter followed by a hot summer had caused a stretcher displaying the painting to move.
The 41-year-old covered the front of the painting with facing paper and brushed on a warm gelatin-and-water solution to preserve it before it could be sent to London to be relined.
However, Dr Grosvenor was left dismayed when his cat launched itself at the painting before raking its claws down the middle of the portrait to leave a large gaping hole.

Dr Bendor Grosvenor featured in five seasons of BBC's Fake or Fortune CREDIT: STUART NICOL PHOTOGRAPHY
While the painting was not completely destroyed, the repair costs are estimated to almost equal the entire purchase fee and Dr Grosvenor admitted the artwork will never return to its pristine condition.

He told The Sunday Telegraph: "I bought it in 2015 for £5,250. I probably spent the same again cleaning and reframing it. 
​
"And as I stood back to admire my handiwork, up jumped our cat, landing forcefully in the centre of the painting with a crunch. Disaster.”
 
“Wright is one of my favourite artists, and I bought this example because it was in excellent condition, with all the original glazes and details wonderfully intact.

"Now, it's obviously in less good condition - but at least the cat landed on his clothing, and not his face.”

He added Padme is “not a fan of John Michael Wright, and regrets nothing.”

Dr Grosvenor has found many lost works of art in his career, including a 2017 discovery of  the "lost portrait" of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham at Pollok House, Glasgow, Scotland.

It was thought to have been lost for more than 400 years.

In 2009, he bested the Scottish National Portrait Gallery's experts, finding their portrait of Charles Edward Stuart by Maurice Quentin de La Tour was in fact a portrait of Charles' brother, Henry Benedict Stuart, Cardinal York.

According to Tate, John Michael Wright was rated as "one of the leading indigenous British painters of his generation" for his Baroque style portraits.

Having trained as an artist in Scotland under the tutelage of George Jamesone, he moved to England permanently in 1656 where he painted Stuart kings Charles II and James II.