two cuties

thanks wikimedia commons {{PD:US 1923}}

I smiled and clapped my hands this morning when I discovered "Junge Frau mit Katzchen" (Young Woman with Kitten) by the German artist Rudolf Hirth du Frenes (1846-1916).  This is an oil on board, the colors thinly painted over what seems to be a rough ground, which explains the pastel-like, soft effect.  But the girl's eyes are so bright!  And look at the kitten's tiny, puzzled face.  Perfect.
If you're interested, there's a portrait of du Frenes as a young man here in which he looks very dramatic and not at all the kind of fellow who grew up to paint many domestic genre scenes like this.