Bull

Description

This bull and its pelican companion are in fact chimeras: imaginative beasts composed of disparate body parts from two or more animals. French sculptor Emmanuel Fremiet merged the contemporary fascination with medieval imagery—particularly gargoyles—with his lifelong zoological studies. The gothic influence shows in each creature’s set of batlike wings, while the pelican’s mismatched but eerily realistic frog body displays Fremiet’s naturalist bent.

Bull

Emmanuel Fremiet

c. 1896

Accession Number

246811

Medium

Glazed stoneware

Dimensions

55 × 59 × 30 cm (21 11/16 × 23 1/4 × 11 13/16 in.)

Classification

sculpture

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Purchased with funds provided by Constance T. and Donald W. Patterson through the Old Masters Society