Henriette Ronner-Knip (Amsterdam 1821-Brussels 1909) came from a particularly artistic family. Her grandfather Nicolaas Frederik Knip (1741-1808) came from a family of wallpaper painters. Father Josephus Augustus Knip (1777-1847), from whom she learned the trade, specialized in landscapes.

At a young age, Henriette showed great painting talent. For example, at the age of 14 she painted The Farm of His K.H. the Prince of Orange near Tilburg, furnished with countless sheep, with the help of her brother August (1819-1861). The cloth was sent to the palace and provided her father, who had gone blind three years earlier, with a pension for the rest of his life.
Although Henriette started painting landscapes with cattle, she soon discovered that her preference was for companion animals: dogs and cats.

At the time, Brussels was one of the most modern European cities, with an excellent artistic climate and good outlets for artists. The city attracted numerous businessmen and a genteel bourgeois environment developed that was interested in art and could afford not only chic interiors, but also pets. Ronner increasingly painted dogs and from 1870 mainly cats. It owes its considerable reputation mainly to this last subject. Clients and interested buyers who visited the Living Masters Salons and Exhibitions were struck by the astonishing precision with which Ronner was able to capture her cats.

She paid great attention to the individual characters and emotions of the cats: youthful, boisterous, wild, caring, nurturing or curious. She often portrayed them lying on a rug against a subtle background of wallpaper. But she also painted the cats and kittens in the midst of beautiful, richly decorated interiors with thick carpets, antique furniture, books, chests and other objects. Although she mainly painted realistically at the beginning of her long career, she underwent an unmistakable development in the direction of Impressionism during her career.

The offered artwork shows a beautiful, early representation of her hand, playing dogs. A nice composition in which the playful battle between the dogs is settled in favor of the most daring of the three dogs. It is therefore given the title: The winners takes it all.

The artwork is signed lower right.

The painting is framed in a beautifully matching handmade frame.

The painting comes from a collection of a former art dealer.