Antoine Louis Barye (1795-1875) - Walking lion

Dimensions: H. 23 x W. 41 x D. 10 cm
With counter-plinth : H. 31 x L. 46 x D. 16 cm

Very fine late 19th century bronze sculpture with brown and green shaded patina.
Black marble pedestal, dimensions with pedestal: 46 x 16 x 31 cm

Signed on the terrace:
- BARYE" recessed
- F.BARBEDIENNE.FONDEUR" engraved
- GOLD stamp "FB
Numbered below the terrace :
- n°38 engraved
- n°5735 in ink

Antoine Louis Barye was born in Paris in 1795.
He is undoubtedly the greatest animal sculptor of the 19th century. In 1818, Barye entered the École des Beaux-arts de Paris in the studio of sculptor Bosio and painter Gros. Teaching at the beginning of the century was purely academic, but from the outset of his apprenticeship, Barye sought to demonstrate his romantic and modernist vision of sculpture. Despite the resistance of classicism, the talent of this visionary artist was recognized, and Barye was awarded the second Prix de Rome in 1820. He left the school in 1825, preferring to study living animals at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. Théophile Gautier dubbed him the "Michelangelo" of the menagerie, where he studied animals ad-vivum with his friend Eugène Delacroix. Both artists had a predilection for fauves, whose power and suppleness captivated them. Barye demonstrated an almost scientific rigor, attending dissections of dead animals to immerse himself in the animals' bodies, their fur and above all their musculature.

But Antoine Barye's genius lay in his ability to go beyond this realism, which he mastered perfectly, by giving the animal a new, stylized aesthetic. He was followed by two other great innovators of animal sculpture, Rembrandt Bugatti and François Pompon. This new aesthetic was widely adopted in the decorative arts of the early 20th century.

During his lifetime, Barye received prestigious orders from the Duc d'Orléans, Louis Philippe and the Musée du Louvre. After his death in 1875, most of his plaster casts and models were purchased by Ferdinand Barbedienne, the famous metallurgist and best foundryman of the time. Until 1900, Barbedienne cast bronzes from Barye's original models. The castings were made with extreme attention to detail. Today, most of Barye's original plaster casts and models are the property of the Louvre.

Prints bearing the Barbedienne Gold stamp are the first castings by this foundry. They are much rarer than the classic Barbedienne fonts, and also the most meticulous, notably in terms of patinas.

Barye's bronzes are preserved in countless museums around the world.