[Prologue] Everyone Needs a Warm and Cozy Cat

Part 1.
Cats and Friends
1.
We are all actually cats
Louis Wain, Mother Cat and Her Babies
2.
Just as it is
Arthur Heyer, The Butterfly and the White Cat
3.
Cats everywhere in everyday life
Pierre Bonnard, The White Cat
4.
I'll lead you to a freer place
Vincent van Gogh, Hanging Skull and Cat
5.
Life and cats are one
Charles van den Ayken, The Little Writer

Part 2.
Humans need cats
1.
Don't harass my cat
Jean-Jacques Bachelier, White Angora Cat Chasing a Butterfly
2.
My territory, their territory
Henriette Lohner Knipp, "The Piano Lesson"
3.
A cat that is so human
Abraham Teniers, The Barbershop of the Monkey and the Cat
4.
Humans need cats
Jean-Honoré Fragonard and Marguerite Gérard, "Angora Cat"
5.
Making eye contact and rubbing bodies together
Jean-François Millet, The Churning of Milk

Part 3.
To understand the world of cats
1.
Until the boundaries are broken
Paul Gauguin, Mimi and Her Cat
2.
What it means to be unique
Claude Monet, "Cat Sleeping in Bed"
3.
The cat's time flows slowly
Carl Keller, My Wife's Lovers
4.
A heart that is carefully stroked
Jean-Baptiste Perronneau, Girl with a Cat
5.
Everyone has secrets
Paul Klee, "Cat and Bird"

Part 4.
The perfect moment to fill your daily life
1.
How to live with a cat
Théophile Alexandre Steinlen, Cat on a Chair
2.
Toes that add vitality to everyday life
Jean-Baptiste Greuze, "Woman with Wool"
3.
Anywhere is fine, knees, shoulders
Franz Marc, Cat on a Yellow Cushion
4.
Moderate weight and warm warmth
Auguste Renoir, Julie Manet
5.
Not perfect, not perfect
Henri Rousseau, Portrait of Pierre Loti

How to go my own way,
How to enjoy leisurely,
How to make eye contact while giving your side,
How to enjoy love without paying a price…
What wise cats teach us about life

We often call people who live with cats 'cat owners'.
In a similar vein, in Japan, butlers are nicknamed "servants" and in Germany, "can openers".
In this way, people today are willing to humble themselves for the sake of their beloved cats.
But it hasn't been that long since this perception emerged.

Long ago in Europe, cats were considered symbols of evil or bad luck.
When the Black Death was rampant, the cause was rats, but ironically, the arrows turned to cats.
As zoology developed during the Renaissance, the perception of cats as "small, cute animals" took hold, replacing the unconditional hatred toward them. By the 17th century, they began appearing in portraits of nobles, becoming symbols of wealth and a life of leisure.
And it wasn't until the 19th century, when posters began to develop, that the friendly and playful appearance of cats began to be portrayed in paintings by the British artist Louis Wain.
Although the perception of cats as 'companions' today has changed depending on the times and cultural background, their attitude towards humans has remained the same then and now.
'... Humans!'

《Cat Museum》 tells the story of artists who helplessly gave their territory to cats, as well as the affectionate gaze of artists who captured their pure curiosity about the existence of cats.
Another great attraction of this book is that you can read the writings of Park Song-i, a certified French cultural commentator and the butler of a fourteen-year-old cat, filled with a wealth of knowledge she has accumulated while working at world-renowned art museums such as the Louvre and Orsay.
The paintings he chose remind us of cozy and warm moments with our cats, and make us love them even more as they come to us at the end of a hard day, silently staying by our side and comforting us.

"Cats make life a work of art, and the world becomes more beautiful simply by their presence."
Cozy and warm moments with cats

《Cat Museum》 is divided into four parts and introduces cats from famous paintings who were once ostracized by humans, but gradually adapted to the human world and eventually became the main characters of the world.
Part 1 features paintings by artists who changed the world's view of cats, while Part 2 features paintings of humans and cats who became friends.
Part 3 introduces the unique nature of cats, who are easygoing and independent, and their world, while Part 4 introduces scenes of cats that have always been with us in our daily lives.
Warm and cozy pictures will provide gentle comfort to our lives that need warmth.
Cats are more than just pets; they have now taken a deep place in our hearts.
At the end of a hard day, we come to each other, stay by our side silently, make eye contact, and share our body heat. That's when we realize.
The fact that we depend on them for our survival more than cats need us.