14/08/2026
This leopard has been getting a lot of attention recently, so we wanted to tell you a little bit more about it…
Leopard (bronze) was sculpted by the artist Domenica de Ferranti, who was classically trained in fine art in Florence and is inspired by encounters with humans and animals from across the globe.
There is such great attention to detail in Ferranti’s work through actual in-person studies of the figures she is portraying. For example, the Leopard’s outstretched paw as he’s slowly stalking forward, with a lowered head and set gaze. It’s a detail that’s so easy to miss, but any stalking cat, even house cats, don’t place a foot straight down but do this very careful twist, moving the pad inwards towards their bodies. In a moment, that foot will land and there won’t be a single sound.
Unlike a lot of Bronzes, this work doesn’t exist in a removed, stationary state but encourages the viewer to physically interact with it. The way in which Ferranti sculpts her works means that you can trace your fingers over her sculptures and almost feel like you are applying those initial layers of clay yourself. Ferranti has achieved a wonderful balance between accurate conformation and looseness, that allows your mind to fill in the gaps and create something continually fresh and alive. It is such a wonderfully tactile object!
To see this leopard and more wonderful works by Ferranti, please come by our gallery at 19 Ryder Street in St. James’s.
