The artwork titled “Cat eating a bird” by Pablo Picasso was created in the year 1939 and is associated with the Cubism and Surrealism art movements. It falls under the genre of animal painting, depicting a moment of predatory action between two animals.
In the artwork, Picasso has employed both Cubist and Surrealist styles to portray the intense scene. The cat is depicted with exaggerated, distorted features—its mouth open wide, revealing sharp teeth clenching a bird. Its eyes are rendered with a sense of wildness, contributing to the ferocity of the moment. The cat’s fur patterns and coloration are abstract and not entirely representative of a real cat, further emphasizing the influence of Cubism, which is known for breaking down subjects into geometric shapes and reassembling them in abstract forms.
The bird, gripped firmly by the cat, appears to be in its final moments, with its wings spread and its body contorted. Despite the vividness of the scene, there is an unsettling calmness in the way the subjects are composed, with the background remaining neutral, providing little context or distraction from the central action. The use of color is fairly subdued, with earthy tones dominating the palette, focusing attention on the drama unfolding between the predator and prey. This interaction, although a natural occurrence, is given an intense emotional weight through Picasso’s unique artistic approach, inviting viewers to consider the inherent violence of nature and perhaps broader themes of life, death, and survival.
