The Man of the Woods and the Cat of the Mountains - R. B. Kitaj

A 1963 oil painting by R. B. Kitaj, featuring a surreal, flattened interior scene with enigmatic figures and a bold, saturated colour palette.

The Man of the Woods and the Cat of the Mountains, painted in 1963, represents the distinctive approach of R. B. Kitaj to figurative art. During this period, Kitaj moved away from the strictures of pure abstraction, opting instead for a method that incorporated literary references, historical allusions, and personal iconography. The composition features a flattened, stage-like interior space, characteristic of his early work, where disparate elements coexist in a dreamlike arrangement. In this piece, the artist employs a palette dominated by ochre, deep red, and violet. The figures are rendered with a sense of ambiguity, their forms appearing almost collaged against the background. A central figure, partially obscured by a feline form, gazes outward, while a second, smaller head appears behind it, suggesting a narrative layer that remains intentionally elusive. The inclusion of domestic details, such as the light bulb and the calendar, grounds the scene in a recognisable, if distorted, reality. Kitaj often utilised such visual cues to prompt the viewer to construct their own meaning from the juxtaposition of objects and figures. Technically, the work demonstrates the artist's interest in the interplay between graphic clarity and painterly texture. The application of paint varies from thin, translucent washes to more opaque, saturated areas, creating a sense of depth that contradicts the overall flatness of the pictorial plane. This painting reflects the intellectual rigour Kitaj brought to his practice, where the act of looking is treated as an active, analytical process. By avoiding a singular, didactic message, the work remains open to interpretation, inviting the viewer to engage with the visual puzzles presented within the frame.