Joseph Gindra, born in 1862 in Jemeppe at the Maas, Belgium, painted still lifes, interiors, harbour views, landscapes and animals, mainly cats. This genre had become very popular in Belgium in particular due to the paintings of cats by Henriëtte Ronner-Knip. Painters such as Daniël Merlin and Charles van den Eycken even devoted themselves entirely to this genre. Gindra was educated at the Academy in Brussels. On the advice of his painter friend Victor de Buck, he settled in Bladel near Eindhoven (The Netherlands) in 1887. In 1895 he had a house built there, now known as the 'Gindra House'.