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A work made of glazed stoneware.

Bull

c. 1896

Emmanuel Fremiet (French, 1824–1910) Produced by Émile Muller et Cie. (Ivry-sur-Seine, France, 1854–1908)

France

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.

Glazed stoneware

Painting and Sculpture of Europe