Sculpture - The Walking Lion , Antoine-louis Barye (1795-1875) - Bronze

Proof in bronze , with brown patina , representing a lion , "The Walking Lion" , by Antoine-Louis Barye .
The "The Walking Lion" , looking ahead , like its counterpart "The Marching Tiger" . 
The lion is portrayed in a dynamic attitude , his mouth slightly open , his mane bristling , his muscles powerful and remarkably detailed . 
So much realism is not due to chance .
Indeed , Antoine Louis Barye knew animal anatomy inside out . 
The sculptor revolutionised the way animals were represented . 
For him , they were no longer political symbols or mythological attributes . 
Instead , they become the sole subject , the animal as such and nothing else . 
This vision of the subject enabled Barye to create unique works , imbued with elegance and naturalism . 
Signature of the sculptor "BARYE" , in hollow , on the naturalist terrace, richly chiselled .
Rectangular plinth version . 
Bronze from the second half of the 19th century . 
Very good condition and patina . 

Height : 23 cm  Length : 39 cm

Antoine - Louis Barye (1795 - 1875)

Famous for his animal sculptures , Antoine-Louis Barye is a silversmith's son , who is trained in metalwork with a military equipment manufacturer and Jacques - Henri Fauconnier.

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

It was in 1831 that Barye made himself known to the general public by exhibiting " The Tiger Devouring a Gavial " (Louvre) at the Salon , a work staging a violent fight "of impressive virtuosity".
Two years later , he triumphed with "The Lion and the Snake" plaster , which was also successfully exhibited in its bronze version at the Salon of 1836 .
Preferring bronze to marble considered too cold , the artist multiplied statuettes and small groups animals that he melts and chisels himself .

Barye died at the age of 80 , leaving behind an important production of drawings , watercolors and paintings as well as sculptures , pieces of goldsmith's work .
His works can be seen at the Louvre and Orsay Museums .

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