16 Times People Took Pictures Of Their Cats, Only To Realize It Was ‘Accidental Renaissance’

Most cat pictures are as adorable as a baby’s laughter. And if you capture these furry felines at the perfect moment, you may have a photo worth a thousand shares. 

The Accidental Renaissance Cats Facebook group features these endearing inadvertent snapshots. As the name suggests, many of these images somehow resemble artwork from centuries ago. 

We’ve collected some of the stills that stood out from the page. Whether you’re a cat lover or not, these will likely liven up your day.

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Pictolic has published a few pieces covering ‘Accidental Renaissance’ photos. In one of our articles in late 2023, we spoke with art historian Sally Hickson to learn more about what Renaissance art is. 

“The widespread use of single-point perspective is a key to recognizing early Renaissance works. You know, tiny figures contained within a perfectly proportional world, usually including architectural settings that help to set the scale.”

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Doing a quick search on the traits of Renaissance art will lead you to a laundry list of differing results. But according to Hickson, “it’s all about creating a perfect image of the world.”

“Along with the usual altarpieces and depictions of saints, there’s an interest in mythological scenes — the reimagining of the ancient world.”

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Hickson delved further into the defining characteristics of Renaissance art, which she also says is about balance and perfection. 

“The Renaissance is not just one thing in terms of visual language. It’s about an evolution of visual language centered on the full range of human experience.”

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Let’s shift our attention to cats, our main subjects for this piece. According to research, our natural liking for felines dates back nearly 10,000 years ago. Here’s an explanation from paleo-geneticist Dr. Eva-Maria Geigl:

“[Cats] approached human settlements because there was food — concentrated rodents thriving on grain accumulations,” Dr. Geigl told Medical News Today.  “Humans had a real interest in having cats around. They were just happy with the cats feasting on the rodents that destroyed their cereals.”

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In a separate interview, Washington State University professor Dr. Patricia Pendry shared her theory about why many people love cats so much. 

“The subtle and somewhat unpredictable responses cats give us, give us the perception that we are chosen — or perceived as ‘special’ when a response from a cat does occur,” she explained. 

“Because the response tends to take a little bit more time to emerge, we are captivated by a desire to know what the cat will do.”

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