Chat saisissant un oiseau

Pablo Picasso, 1939

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About This Work

Painted on April 22, 1939, during a period of profound geopolitical darkness and impending war, "Chat saisissant un oiseau" (Cat Catching a Bird) is an arresting and forceful oil painting on canvas by Pablo Picasso measuring 81 by 100 centimeters. The composition presents a dramatic and violent confrontation between a ferocious, feral cat and a wounded, blood-streaked bird. The cat is rendered with striking planar contours and a simplified, mask-like face featuring hypnotic black-and-white eyes and sharp, radiating claws that evoke a terrifying, demon-like presence. In stark contrast, the bird is depicted in brutal hues of crimson and black, crushed within the predator’s relentless grasp. Picasso employs an economical yet intensely expressive palette and flat planes of color, focusing attention entirely on the brutal clash of the figures against a darkened, atmospheric background. This powerful pictorial construction transforms a predatory encounter into an unforgettable allegory of violence, aggression, and existential dread.

Created in Paris on April 22, 1939, "Chat saisissant un oiseau" reflects the profound historical trauma and political turmoil that overshadowed Europe on the eve of the Second World War. The fall of Barcelona in January and Madrid in March 1939, coupled with the collapse of the Spanish Republic and the rise of Franco’s dictatorship, deeply impacted Picasso, who weaponized his imagery through a menacing bestiary rather than direct political reportage. As documented in official institutional records from the Musée Picasso Paris, where the work entered via the historic Dation Pablo Picasso in 1979 under inventory number MP178, the domestic cat—historically portrayed by Picasso as a playful or decorative companion—mutates here into a terrifying creature of aggression and raw survival. Curator Nathalie Leleu notes that Picasso famously described feral cats during the Occupation as fierce demons ready to attack. Through this visceral predator-prey dynamic, Picasso captured the pervasive climate of fear, brutality, and impending catastrophe gripping Europe. The documented holding collection is Musée national Picasso-Paris, Paris, France; its direct institutional object record (https://cep.museepicassoparis.fr/explorer/chat-saisissant-un-oiseau-mp?lang=en) is retained as the factual source for the catalog entry and its provenance trail.

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