a cat, bronze and thoughtful

the walters art museum, baltimore. PD. creative commons 3.0 license

Emmanuel Fremiet (French, 1824 - 1910) was best known for grand bronzes like the Joan of Arc equestrian pieces in Paris, Philadephia and (this one I know well) Portland Oregon.  In 1887 he won a Salon medal for his sculpture of a gorilla carrying off a woman; he also created bears, orang-outangs, and at least one elephant.
Then we have this tiny cat of circa 1910, all of 3 1/16 inches.  Hardly any room to maneuver, you'd think, yet here is all the presence of a much bigger piece:  detailed modeling, fur rippling and stretching as it should, an inquisitive tilt to the head as kitty examines an enticing tail tip.  I suppose it goes to show that when you're a master of the craft, you can scale it up or down as you wish with nothing lost.