Cornelus Raaphorst (1875-1954)

He lived and worked for most of his life in Wassenaar.He preferred to paint cats and especially kittens and whilst he was highly
influenced by Henriette Ronner he still retained his individual style.He painted mostly in the medium of oil on canvas.

Towards the end of the 19th century it became very much more common for artists to paint domestic animals and with the introduction of
zoos and private collections of kept animals,the practice of painting favourite pets became widespread.Domesticated pet portraiture was a
more unusual medium and Cornelus Raaphorst is considered to be amongst the best of these artists.