Georges Jamotte (1880–1940) Portrait Of A Woman With A Cat

Georges Bernard JAMOTTE
(Ixelles, 1880 – Etterbeek, 1940)
The Lady with the Cat
Pastel, gouache, and charcoal on paper mounted on cardboard
H. 31.5 cm; W. 22 cm
Signed lower right, dated 1925

Provenance: Private collection, Toulouse (held alongside several other works by the artist)

A Belgian painter, Georges Jamotte produced colorful, cheerful works throughout his career, exploring a wide range of subjects. Whether portraits, genre scenes, or still lifes, he tackled all these styles with great skill. He held several exhibitions in Brussels, where he lived, and illustrated numerous literary works. A significant part of his art lies in caricature; a book devoted exclusively to portraits of musicians was published nearly thirty years ago.

Our subject, which falls somewhere between a portrait and a genre scene, depicts a bourgeois interior from the 1920s where a young woman with her hair down is reading a letter. Seated at the foot of the staircase in the home, she is watched by her cat, a symbol of independence and freedom.