jeppe is napping

public domain

In 1886 a tabby tries to sleep in the Swedish sun. His master keeps pestering him. But his master is the great wildlife painter Bruno Liljefors (1860-1939), and a stripy cat in the dappled light is simply too much temptation for an Impressionist-leaning artist.

After classical training at the Royal Academy of Art in Stockholm, Liljefors traveled throughout Europe, where in Paris he met up with the new approach championed by the Impressionists. What really mattered to him when he got home to the landscape of his youth was capturing the living creature in its habitat, factually portrayed and yet filled with its particular essence and energy.

Which, for a pet cat, would be lounge-o-rama time in a pleasantly leafy bush. Sleeping Jeppe, oil on canvas, 1886.

If you're interested to learn a bit more about Liljefors, here is a link to a fine article.