Eagle holding a Heron
Statuette
ca. 1890 (cast), ca. 1857 (Model)
ca. 1890 (cast), ca. 1857 (Model)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This statue was cast by Barbedienne after a model by A.L Barye.
Antoine Louis Barye (1795-1875) 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.
Antoine Louis Barye (1795-1875) 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.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Eagle holding a Heron |
| Materials and techniques | Bronze |
| Brief description | Eagle holding a Heron (second version), Bronze, cast by Ferdinand Barbedienne (1810-1892) after a model by Antoine-Louis Barye (1796-1875), France (Paris), first edition ca. 1857, this cast ca. 1890 1857; this cast ca. 1890 |
| Physical description | Bronze group, an eagle standing on a rock with a heron lying at its feet. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | BARYE signature cast through from the model, Stamped F.BARBEDIENNE Fondeur
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| Object history | Purchased from the Barbedienne foundry in 1890 for the V&A’s Circulation Department and on long loan to Birmingham Art Gallery until July 1964 [before transfer to A&S in 1982] Barye died in 1875 so this was cast later from a foundry model. Origins of the composition trace back to a project conceived by the French government in 1834 to place a gigantic eagle on top of the Arc de Triomphe. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Association | |
| Summary | This statue was cast by Barbedienne after a model by A.L Barye. Antoine Louis Barye (1795-1875) 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. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 112-1890 |
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| Record created | November 3, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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