What Do Da Vinci's Mona Lisa and Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam Have in Common? A Modern Cat

What Do Da Vinci's Mona Lisa and Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam Have in Common? A Modern Cat

“People usually think art is something they cannot touch, but there is a lot of viral art on the Internet, such as memes. I have simply created my own art and encourage others to do the same. Art is for everyone,” Svetlana Petrova told Catster.

Yes, it was Russian artist and photographer Svetlana Petrova's book "Fat Cat Art" that inspired this woman named Hannah to make her own collection of classical art memes. And her popular collection features none other than her own cat, Gravy.

In an interview with Newsweek, Hannah shared some details about her feline pet, who's gone viral on social media. "Gravy is about a year old. I adopted him in June of 2021 from a crazy lady outside of a local Savemart who thrust him into my arms, and well, I just couldn't say no to taking him in."

Like Petrova's tabby cat, Zarathustra, Hannah photoshopped her pet on famous Renaissance, Baroque, and Realism paintings. But she had to use her smartphone since her laptop was no longer functional for creating the kind of memes she wanted to do. Lacking in feathering tools and other features, the program didn't allow Gravy's modern color and texture to be in perfect blend with the original artworks, but the memes delighted thousands of people anyway.

Hannah's Mona Lisa cat art meme garnered more than 45,000 votes on Reddit and numerous comments. Some of the commenters have even helped to enhance Hannah's Mona Lisa and Gravy artwork to make it funnier and more "authentic" in appearance.

Gravy also starred in William-Adolphe Bouguereau's "Virgin of the Angels" (1881), Diego Velázquez's "Portrait of Pope Innocent X" (1650), and Michelangelo's "The Creation of Adam" (1508 - 1512). You can see more of these entertaining memes on Hannah's Reddit sub r/SplashofGravy.

Doris de Luna

For more than 20 years now, I’ve been devoting my heart, energy, and time to fulfilling my dream, which – many people may agree – is not among the easiest aspirations in life. Part of my happiness is having been able to lend a hand to many individuals, companies, and even governments as an investigative journalist, creative writer, TV director, and radio broadcaster.


At home, I spend my free time learning how to cook various cuisines. Tiramisu, chocolate mousse, and banoffee pie are my favorite desserts. Playing with our dogs, Mushu and Jerusalem, is also a special part of my day. And, of course, I read a lot – almost anything under the sun. But what really makes me feel alive is meeting people from various walks of life and writing about their stories, which echo with the tears and triumph of an unyielding spirit, humanity, and wisdom.

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