Vintage cheetah sculpture in modern ceramic, Italy 1970

This large cheetah figurine was probably produced in Italy in the 1970s. The figurine is made of high quality hand painted ceramic in intense shades of orange. The cheetah is perfect for the office or living room, and as a complement to an interior in the Hollywood Regency style.Animal sculptures have a very long tradition and date back to the Paleolithic era. Over the following centuries, artists forged animal forms in stone, glued clay and cast bronze. It was not until the 19th and 20th centuries that animal sculpture gained an independent position. With the development of cabinet art and collections, small sculptures depicting various animals gained popularity. Art Nouveau artists were inspired by the world of animals in full force, creating both free-standing sculptures as well as furniture, jewelry inspired by the shapes of animal bodies. In the Art Deco style, the complex forms of animals were reduced to simple, geometric shapes that, combined with refined details and materials, gave an incredibly decorative effect. The master of this type of treatment was François Pompon, whose figure of a walking polar bear entered the canon. The great avant-garde artists did not shy away from animal forms either. Suffice it to mention Pablo Picasso or Henry Moore.This figurine is in original vintage condition.