Biography
Born on 16 July 1977 in Boudry, canton of Neuchâtel, Thoma Vuille began painting murals with acrylics at fifteen, inspired by his grandfather, a building painter. After a vocational diploma in civil engineering, he enrolled at the Institut d'arts visuels in Orléans, studying from 1995 to 2001. In 1997, during a workshop at a local school, a pupil's cat drawing sparked the creation of his iconic character: a grinning orange cat.
He painted the smiling feline on rooftops and walls across Orléans, signing only as "M. Chat" to test whether "a drawing can live without its creator." The character quickly spread to Tours, Nantes, Saint-Étienne, Paris, London, Vienna, Geneva and New York. In 2004, the cat appeared on the Centre Pompidou esplanade in Chris Marker's film "Chats perchés", cementing its international fame.
In 2007, the creator's identity was revealed when he was caught painting a wall in Orléans — the court handed down only a symbolic suspended fine of 300 euros. Now shown through Artsper, Galerie 125 and featured on Google Arts & Culture, M. Chat remains one of the most recognisable figures in French street art.
He painted the smiling feline on rooftops and walls across Orléans, signing only as "M. Chat" to test whether "a drawing can live without its creator." The character quickly spread to Tours, Nantes, Saint-Étienne, Paris, London, Vienna, Geneva and New York. In 2004, the cat appeared on the Centre Pompidou esplanade in Chris Marker's film "Chats perchés", cementing its international fame.
In 2007, the creator's identity was revealed when he was caught painting a wall in Orléans — the court handed down only a symbolic suspended fine of 300 euros. Now shown through Artsper, Galerie 125 and featured on Google Arts & Culture, M. Chat remains one of the most recognisable figures in French street art.
The site contains a total of 8 artworks by M. Chat in 2 countries.
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Artworks by M. Chat have been viewed 373 times.
