Who is Musette the Maltese? And why did the famous French sculptor Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse have a lesser-known sculptor, Jean-Baptiste Gille, execute this work for him? Was it because he was heartbroken by the death of a beloved dog and couldn’t bear to do the sculpting himself? Or was it because a wealthy patron wanted a likeness of their pup and Carrier-Belleuse needed the cash but didn’t want to do the work himself, so he commissioned a friend to do it?

I’ve tried to find out the answer to these questions for us, but alas, the mystery of Musette is here to stay.