Cats in art
What do Japanese and Ukrainian art have in common?
If you guessed "tools", you are correct! Japanese artists sometimes use brushes made from cat fur for fine details or calligraphy. These brushes are called neko-ke fude 猫毛筆 (neko = cat). Ukrainian folk style Petrykivka (named after the village) uses a similar tool - the koshachka, a brush made from a few cat hairs. It’s valued for the same qualities: softness and the ability to paint extremely fine, almost invisible lines.
Both cultures love cats and never harm them to obtain fur, but approaches are very different.
Japanese master:
“Today my cat gifted me three hairs. This is a sign. I will brew tea, meditate, prepare the paper, and perhaps create a brush that can convey the spirit of the spring wind.”
Ukrainian master:
“Oh, finally I have half an hour of quiet. Murchyk, come here, I need to trim a couple of hairs from your belly. I’ll give you some sour cream. Done - time to paint.”
Masseeka would be an absolute star for either master, with her long silky fur!
Petrykivka art originally appeared as decoration on whitewashed house walls, both inside and outside, and later became widely used on paper and household items. I haven’t been able to find images of Japanese art made specifically with cat-fur brushes, but here is an album of Petrykivka art. The book has all articles in Ukrainian followed by their English versions, and every image caption appears in both languages. Enjoy!
