The Cat And Her Kitten, Sculpture In Sèvres Biscuit, 1905

This very touching “Maternité de Chats” in biscuit representing a cat and her kitten is a sculpture by Louis Riché made for the national factory of Sèvres in 1905. Louis Riché (1877-1949) is a French sculptor and bronze worker, student of Georges Gardet , famous Parisian animal sculptor. He was only 19 years old when, in 1896, he became the youngest sculptor to exhibit at the Salon of French Artists. The artist is particularly famous for his animal representations. Among his favorite subjects, dogs, especially the German Shepherd, but also cats which he represented with great realism throughout his career. The artist was able to capture with great precision this moment of intimacy and tenderness between a cat and her kitten. This type of sculpture is part of the vogue for statuary during the Third Republic when wealthy bourgeois women developed a pronounced taste for small statuary. Later, the Union of Decorative Arts also encouraged the collaboration of artists with various factories including that of Sèvres. Louis Riché excelled in various materials such as bronze, terracotta and, as here, porcelain. In 1905, the date of this biscuit Louis Riché obtained a Second Class medal at the French artists' fair.
a very little chip at one of the Kitten ears