Sculptor - Emmanuel Fremiet
Title - Stretching Dog
Sand Cast Bronze
Atelier Charles More
Circa 1844
3 1/2" height by 8" length
(9cm by 20cm)
Fremiet began sculpting small models of domestic animals in the 1840s and later created much larger works and several monuments. This model of a Stretching Dog is one of his earliest sculptures. It was a popular bronze and quite a few were cast in the early to mid 19th century.
The dog is shown as he wakes up and stretches out his rear legs and turns his head to stretch his neck. Fremiet was superb at capturing such simple moments in the life of a pet dog or cat. It is hard to tell exactly what breed of dog he is, perhaps a Bull terrier, Greyhound or lurcher.
A fine small cabinet bronze, this dog is finished in a rich brown patina, he is signed and has the punch numbers "449" on the base, showing this is an early cast done by Charles More, who cast many of Fremiet's small animals.
This bronze is illustrated in the following books:
Animals in Bronze by Christopher Payne, pg. 200
Les Animaliers by Jane Horswell, pg. 190
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