Antoine-Louis Barye

ANTOINE-LOUIS BARYE (France, 1795 - 1875).
"Lion with boar", ca.1840.
Patinated bronze.
Signed.
A similar model is reproduced in "The Baryes bronzes" by Stuart Pivar, 1974, p.137.
Measurements: 39 x 48 x 23 cm.

This sculpture in patinated bronze, made by Antoine-Louis Barye, undisputed master of romantic animalism, represents a lion roaring over its prey, a wild boar. The feline, of majestic bearing, dominates the scene by placing its right paw on the downed body, a clear symbol of its victory in the hunt. With its jaws ajar, the lion conveys a mixture of restrained ferocity and absolute supremacy.

The anatomy of the animal is masterfully modeled: the volume of the muscles, the tension of the tendons, the powerful curve of the back and the energy concentrated in the limbs respond to the meticulous study of movement and the wild nature that characterizes Barye. The contrast between the vigor of the predator and the laxity of the defeated boar (whose body lies limp, already without resistance) intensifies the sense of immediacy, as if we were witnessing the instant just after the fight.

A key sculptor of French Romanticism, Barye began his training with his father, a goldsmith, and later expanded it with the masters François Joseph Bosio and Antoine-Jean Gros, at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he entered in 1818. Especially appreciated were his animalistic sculptures, largely initiators of the genre. He had his own foundry, collaborated with Viollet-le-Duc on a project commissioned by Napoleon III and was the teacher of Auguste Rodin. He presented his works at the Paris Salon, and created monuments such as the "Lion with Serpent" in the Tuileries Garden (1833), commissioned by the king. He is currently represented in the Louvre and Orsay Museums in Paris, the National Gallery in London, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the Albertina in Vienna, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Smithsonian in Washington D.C., among other museums around the world.