Moose Surprised By A Lynx - Antoine-louis Barye (1795-1875)

Biography: Antoine-Louis Barye (1795-1875) is a French sculptor, renowned for his animal sculptures. Nicknamed "the master of the wild animals", he portrayed hunting and predation attitudes of great expressiveness. His practice of sketching done in a natural environment, based on the animals of the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, gradually led him to also practice painting. Placed very early on with Fourier, a steel engraver who manufactured matrices intended to create the metal parts of the uniforms of the Grande Armée, he learned about all the metal processing trades and became an outstanding engraver. He entered the Paris School of Fine Arts in 1818, where he received classical training in the workshop of the sculptor François-Joseph Bosio and the painter Antoine-Jean Gros. In 1820, he won the second Rome Prize for sculpture for his Cain cursed by God. It was in 1831 that Barye became known to the public by exhibiting at the Salon the Tiger Devouring a Gharial, a tormented and expressive work, which immediately classified him as the first romantic sculptor, the alter ego of Eugène Delacroix in painting, and provoking admiration of criticism. He now continues to produce masterpieces, often small in size, which will enrich the collections of amateur cabinets on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1833, Barye exhibited his Lion and Serpent at the Salon, a commission from the king for the Tuileries garden, an allegory of the monarchy crushing sedition, three years after the July Revolution. The critics are enthusiastic but this is not necessarily the case for his colleagues. In complete break with the proponents of academicism who then reigned over the Institute, Barye opened a foundry and distributed his production himself, using the modern techniques of his time. Like the romantic artists of his time, Barye appreciated exoticism and the Middle Ages. He prefers bronze to marble which he considers too cold. Barye's style calmed down from 1843. He gave his human figures inspired by Greek models, such as the bronze group of Theseus and the centaur Biénor, an energy and movement specific to the romantic vision. Barye's republican ideas did not prevent him from forming ties with Ferdinand-Philippe d'Orléans, for whom he created a table piece, a masterpiece of the decorative arts of this period. He became one of the favorite sculptors of Napoleon III, under whose reign he created monumental works such as Peace, Force, War and Order for the decoration of the new Louvre palace and an equestrian statue of the emperor for the ticket offices of the Louvre. Despite his commercial activity and his practice of art which disconcerted the members of the Institute, they ended up welcoming him into their midst in 1868, and the artist experienced ease and recognition during the last ten years of his life. .