Animal Sculpture
Animals have always been a relevant artistic object and Paleolithic man already created animal sculptures of extraordinary sensitivity. Representations of horses and lions are among the best works of Assyrian sculpture, Egyptian sculptors produced naturalistic depictions of cattle, donkeys, hippos, monkeys and a wide variety of birds and fish and ancient Chinese sculptors made small-scale animal sculptures in bronze and pottery.
This animal art contributed to the rich tradition of animal sculpture in art history, still visible in the Western world in the works of modern artists such as Brancusi, Picasso, Gerhard Marcks, Germaine Richier, François Pompon, Pino Pascali and François-Xavier-Maxime Lalanne.
In the context of jewellery, and in Portugal, the work of Luiz Ferreira and the house to which he gives his name in Porto stands out, famous for its revolutionary approach in the area of jewellery design, namely in terms of articulated animals made from various raw materials.
His contribution was recognized, having received in1994, posthumously, the Cultural Merit medal, for the relevant services provided to Portuguese culture.
Discover the piece Large Fish and other significant pieces by Luiz Ferreira in the J. Baptista’s collection.
