A new movie is in the works about Louis Wain, a 19th Century artist from London famous for his anthropomorphic cats | Starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Claire Foy

Image: The Naughty Puss (second part of The Good Puss; The Naughty Puss (pair) , ca. 1900–1925) by Louis Wain—a chromolithograph (a coloured picture printed by lithography).

When @laputis posted about the anthropomorphic 17th Century Dutch ice skating owls (There's a sentence I never thought I'd write!) I remembered I wanted to write a post about this new movie that's in the works.

Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, The Imitation Game, Doctor Strange, Avengers) has been cast as Louis Wain and will also produce the movie. Starring alongside him will be the amazing Claire Foy (Little Dorrit, The Crown, Wolf Hall) as Emily, his wife.

Benedict Cumberbatch. (Credit: Getty Images)

Claire Foy. (Credit: John Phillips. Copyright: 2017 Getty Images)

The real life Louis Wain (born in 1860) had a cleft lip and was kept out of school until he was ten years old, but eventually became a teacher and then a freelance artist, before helping his mother care for his five sisters. It was in doing this he met his future wife. He married his sisters' governess, Emily, which was quite the scandal at the time. She was also ten years his senior. Sadly, Emily died from breast cancer three years into their marriage. During her illness, she found comfort in the company of a stray cat they brought in, called Peter, and this is where the inspiration for Louis' drawings came from.

Louis Wain with cat. (Credit: Ernest H. Mills. Getty Images.)

Victorian England went crazy for Wain's anthropomorphic creations. ("Anthropomorphic" is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities). You probably recognise them from all sorts of merchandise and postcards—cats playing poker, fishing, taking their dinner and playing games.

A Quiet Game At Nap by Louis Wain. (Source)

Sadly, Wain became mentally ill in what is speculated today to have been signs of schizophrenia. He was passed from institution to institution where his feline illustrations became more frenzied, psychedelic and fiendish. He died in 1939.

Psychedelic Cat by Louis Wain. (Image source unknown)

Studiocanal (UK) and Amazon Studios (US) will release the film. Filming begins next week on August 10 in London. The director will be Will Sharpe.

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References:

Benedict Cumberbatch And Claire Foy Starring In Louis Wain, Empire Online. Retrieved from https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/benedict-cumberbatch-and-claire-foy-starring-in-louis-wain/

New Period Drama: Louis Wain by Willow and Thatch. Retrieved from https://www.willowandthatch.com/louis-wain-movie-cumberbatch-foy/

Past auction on Artnet. Retrieved from http://www.artnet.com/artists/louis-wain/the-good-puss-the-naughty-puss-pair-_ilHoTBbxpjULUUpdE7-hg2