Bronze Group “Tiger Surprising An Antelope”, Antoine – Louis Barye (1795 – 1875)

Bronze group representing a tiger surprising an antelope, terrace version with profile, by Antoine – Louis Barye.
Bronze with brown patina, shaded with green. 
Signature of the sculptor “BARYE”, hollow, on the naturalist terrace, richly chiseled. 
Mark of the Founder Hector Brame “H”.
Old edition sculpture, second part of the period XIX th century. 
Perfect state of conservation and patina.

Length : 25 cm x 40 cm

So much realism is not due to chance.
Indeed, Antoine Louis Barye knows animal anatomy perfectly. 
The sculptor revolutionized the way of representing animals. 
For him, they are no longer political symbols or even mythological attributes.
They become, on the contrary, the unique subject, the animal as such and nothing else. 
This vision of the subject allowed Barye to create unique works, imbued with elegance and naturalism. 

Antoine – Louis Barye (1795 – 1875)

Famous for its animal sculptures , Antoine – Louis Barye is the son of a goldsmith, who trained in metalworking, with a military equipment manufacturer and with Jacques-Henri Fauconnier.

In 1818, he entered the Paris School of Fine Arts et did his apprenticeship in the workshop of the sculptor François Joseph Bosio and the painter Jean-Antoine Gros.
After several failures at the Grand Prix de Rome, Antoine-Louis Barye slammed the door of the Beaux-Arts in 1825.
He then turned towards animal sculpture which he would bring up to date.
With his friend Delacroix, he regularly goes to the menagerie of the Natural History Museum to study and observe the animals.

It was in 1831 that Barye became known to the general public. , by exhibiting at the Salon “The Tiger Devouring a Gavial” (Louvre), a work depicting a violent combat “of impressive virtuosity”.
Two years later, he triumphed with “The Lion with the Serpent” plaster, which was also successfully exhibited in its bronze version at the Salon of 1836.

Preferring bronze to marble considered too cold, the artist multiplies the statuettes and small animal groups, which he melts and chisels himself.

Antoine-Louis Barye, died at the age of 80, leaving behind a significant production of drawings, watercolors and paintings as well as sculptures and pieces of goldwork.
His works can be seen at the Louvre and Orsay Museums.