Original works of art

Ronner-Knip is by some considered to be part of the Belgian School, although she only moved to Belgium from Holland at the age of 29. Known predominately for her paintings of cats, she was also a renowned dog painter. Ronner was from a family of artists, her father and grandfather being artists, as were her uncle and an aunt.

Ronner first exhibited her work at the age of fifteen in Dusseldorf. Encouraged by its sale and the constant support of her father, she devoted herself to painting, completing pictures of animals, interiors, market scenes and landscapes. She exhibited with success in Holland and Germany. Ronner and her husband moved to Brussels in 1850, where she continued painting. Ronner's works may be divided into three periods: the first in which she painted a wide variety of subjects, the second in which she devoted herself to the painting of dogs for fifteen years or so, and the third during which she devoted herself to the depiction of cats and kittens.

Ronner's paintings of dogs are less well known than her cats, but they are no less interesting. Dog and animal painting was very popular indeed during the mid to late nineteenth century and Ronner was collected by the Royal Family and their friends as well as by the rising middle class. In 1876 Ronner painted two of the favorite dogs of The Queen of the Belgians. They were a great success and the Queen's patronage was emulated by her friends and relatives. Among others, she painted the pet dog of the Countess of Flanders, sister-in-law to the Queen. In 1877, the King of the Belgians awarded Ronner the Cross of the Order of Leopold, rarely given to a woman. Among her other Royal patrons was Emperor William I of Germany, the Spanish Royal Family and the British Princess of Wales.