Artist Anna Sokolova painting Tomcat Murr, a contemporary Delft Blue literary cat artwork inspired by E.T.A. Hoffmann, using watercolor, tempera and gouache on cotton rag paper.

Tomcat Murr

Watercolor, tempera, gouache on 100% pure cotton rag paper

Exhibited in Cat Art Show Los Angeles

Part of the Literary Cat Compendium. Contemporary Delft Blue series exploring literary symbolism and magical realism.

The painting is inspired by the complex satirical novel by E.T.A. Hoffmann, "The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr together with a Fragmentary Biography of Kapellmeister Johannes Kreisler on Random Sheets of Waste Paper."

Detail of Tomcat Murr by Anna Sokolova showing Delft Blue brushwork, musical manuscripts, flowers and literary symbolism during the painting process.

The phantasmagoric cat Murr, who has learned to write, presents an autobiography of his life and work. Accidentally, his story becomes intertwined with the biography of the conductor Johannes Kreisler, contrasting self-confidence with moody melancholy.

Studio view of Tomcat Murr by Anna Sokolova, a contemporary Delft Blue painting inspired by E.T.A. Hoffmann's literary cat, shown alongside palettes, brushes and mixed-media materials.

Literary Cat Compendium

→ The White Cat
Tomcat Murr
→ Behemoth
→ Persephone