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Walking Lion

Relief
ca. 1838-1841 (made), ca. 1882 (cast)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This statuette is by Antoine Louis Barye (1795-1875) who exhibited his first animal sculpture in the Paris Salon of 1831 when he was dubbed an 'Animalier', a maker of animals. Initially applied with derogatory overtones, this term became widely used for sculptors - of whom Barye was first and foremost - who specialised in this genre. He was referred to as the 'Michelangelo of the Menagerie' by the contemporaneous art critic Théophile Gautier.

Barye studied animals closely. He attended dissections of animals at the Museum of Natural History in Paris, where he served as the Master of Zoological Drawing from 1854 until his death. But he was also intensely interested in what lay underneath the physical appearance of animals - their inner vitality - and in this sense was in tune with his romantic contemporaries, for whom exotic or wild beasts held a particular fascination.

Although he obtained public commissions and enjoyed the patronage of the Dukes of Orleans, Luynes, Montpensier, and Nemours, Barye specialised in the relatively large-scale production small-scale animal sculptures, often cast by the foundry Barbédienne, but in this case by Hector Brame. The expanding commercial market of the middle class helped ensure that his and other animalier sculptures gained in popularity through the latter half of the 19th century.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleWalking Lion
Materials and techniques
Bronze
Brief description
Relief of a Walking Lion, Antoine-Louis Barye (1765-1875), cast by Hector Brame (1831-1899), bronze, France (Paris), first edition 1838-1841; this cast ca. 1882
Physical description
Bronze relief of a walking Lion
Dimensions
  • Height: 20cm
  • Length: 41cm
  • Depth: 4.5cm (Note: including integral screws )
Dimensions were taken by SCP on 05.11.14 for Bronze Zoo: A Sculptural Menagerie
Marks and inscriptions
BARYE signature cast through from the model (No foundry mark visible)
Object history
Purchased in 1882 from Monsieur Seryier in Paris for use as a Schools Example. Transferred to the V&A’s Circulation Department in 1914 [Later transferred to BGM and to A&S in 1982]
Subject depicted
Association
Summary
This statuette is by Antoine Louis Barye (1795-1875) who exhibited his first animal sculpture in the Paris Salon of 1831 when he was dubbed an 'Animalier', a maker of animals. Initially applied with derogatory overtones, this term became widely used for sculptors - of whom Barye was first and foremost - who specialised in this genre. He was referred to as the 'Michelangelo of the Menagerie' by the contemporaneous art critic Théophile Gautier.

Barye studied animals closely. He attended dissections of animals at the Museum of Natural History in Paris, where he served as the Master of Zoological Drawing from 1854 until his death. But he was also intensely interested in what lay underneath the physical appearance of animals - their inner vitality - and in this sense was in tune with his romantic contemporaries, for whom exotic or wild beasts held a particular fascination.

Although he obtained public commissions and enjoyed the patronage of the Dukes of Orleans, Luynes, Montpensier, and Nemours, Barye specialised in the relatively large-scale production small-scale animal sculptures, often cast by the foundry Barbédienne, but in this case by Hector Brame. The expanding commercial market of the middle class helped ensure that his and other animalier sculptures gained in popularity through the latter half of the 19th century.
Bibliographic references
  • Pivar, Stuart. The Barye Bronzes. Antique Collectors's Club. 1974. pp.244.
  • Poletti, M and Richarme, A. Barye. Catalogue raisonné des sculptures. Paris. 2000. cat. no. A217.
  • Albert Boime, Art in an Age of Counterrevolution 1815-1848. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004.
  • Glenn Franklin Benge, Antoine-Louis Barye: Sculptor of Romantic Realism. Pennsylvania State University Press, 1984.
Collection
Accession number
S.EX.120-1888

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Record createdOctober 6, 2008
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