Pair of Cats

c. 1920–28

Pair of Cats, c. 1920–28. Kitty Rix (Austrian, 1901-?), Wiener Werkstätte (Austria, Vienna, 1903–32). Hand-modeled ceramic, glazed; overall: 12.5 x 12.1 cm (4 15/16 x 4 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Educational Purchase Fund 1929.687 Austrian designers Walter Bosse and Kitty Rix feature colorful, bright forms in their ceramic figures that conjure whimsy and invite imagined stories. Their exaggerated features—such as oversize eyes, ears, and whiskers as well as elongated necks or shortened limbs—use caricature to emphasize elements of form, engaging the viewer through humor and charm. Throughout their careers, Bosse and Rix produced modernist designs for the two leading artist workshops—the Wiener Werkstätte and the Austrian Werkbund. Animals fascinated early modern designers interested in kinetic form and patterns of decoration.