Brazilian Frog

Alongside monumental commissions, small-format animal art developed as a result of the growing number of potential customers among the newly wealthy middle classes coupled with the relative modesty of their domestic arrangements. These small bronzes, designed to stand on mantelpieces and chests of drawers, provided a regular income for the bronze casters whose numbers likewise increased during the second half of the nineteenth century.

Bartlett with his Brazilian Frog, approached the modeling of animals using the resources of symbolism. Others, guided by the technique of stone-cutting, rediscovered the simplicity of solid form.