Learn about a world famous painting every day

Louis Wain (1860-1939), a British illustrator, is famous for his anthropomorphic cats. He suffered from schizophrenia in his later years, and later generations analyzed that his illness may be related to the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, which is common in cats. Louis Wain left many works, which are popular in the European and American collectors' market.

In 1924, Wain's mental problems began to appear. He was very irritable all day long. His family could not bear it anymore and had to send him to a mental hospital. Wain was diagnosed with schizophrenia. During his illness and hospitalization, Wain did not put down his brush. Although his style was very different from before and his works were filled with a strong sense of loss, there was only one thing that remained unchanged - cats were still his focus.

"Anthropomorphic cats" are the invention that made Wain famous - walking upright like humans, wearing clothes and hats, with ambiguous expressions, and looking like cats. Most of his cat paintings were combined with the social scenes of the time and matched with clever titles, which caused a lot of social repercussions. With their fame, people call those anthropomorphic cats "Wayne cats".

Unlike cats painted by others, Wayne's cats rarely deserve the cute name of "cats". In other words, if you appreciate Wayne's paintings with the intention of seeing the cuteness of cats, you will be greatly disappointed and even puzzled. The cats in Wayne's paintings are generally not cute. Cunning, gloomy, melancholy, dull, frightened, indifferent... These words are quite appropriate for "Wayne cats". If you are emotionally normal, you should not have the urge to keep them as pets.

"Kaleidoscope cat" - another proper noun generated by his works. During this period, his works were full of a morbid and complex beauty, and the cats were no longer cat-shaped, especially those works in his late schizophrenia period. You can clearly experience the unique blurred and broken world of Wayne's schizophrenia. Looking at it for a long time may even produce the fear of being addicted to it.

Wayne’s painting style is highly consistent with his mental state, making Wayne’s paintings a classic case in contemporary psychoanalysis and repeatedly studied by experts.