The Cat Of Istanbul - Variations 4 — Charcoal on Paper by Arnaud Quercy

About This Artwork

The Cat Of Istanbul — Variations 4 belongs to the Nature in the city collection, a body of work examining urban wildlife through geometric abstraction. This fourth variation in the series takes a domestic cat — a creature inseparable from Istanbul's street culture — and breaks it into angular planes and curved segments drawn from cubist visual language. The work asks how far a recognizable form can be deconstructed before it loses its identity.

Charcoal on paper gives the composition its full tonal range. Deep blacks anchor the outer edges and define hard geometric boundaries. Mid-greys fill the largest central planes, building the body and mass of the figure. Lighter tones appear at intervals, creating contrast across the fragmented surface. The image is organized vertically, with overlapping angular and rounded forms pressing against each other across the picture plane. A circular eye shape near the center holds the composition together, providing the clearest reference to the feline subject. Surrounding planes shift between flat and curved, producing a sense of three-dimensional space through tone alone rather than color.

This work is classified as a miniature drawing. Physical dimensions were not recorded at time of cataloguing. It was created in January 2023 at the artist's studio at 17 avenue d'Italie, Paris. The work carries certificate number 20231231-0062 and is currently not for sale. It sits as the fourth variation within the Cat Of Istanbul series, part of the broader Nature in the city collection.