- 337
Antoine-Louis Barye
Estimate
8,000 - 12,000 USD
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Description
- Antoine-Louis Barye
- CHEVAL SURPRIS PAR UN LION (deuxième version)
- signed BARYE
- bronze, dark green patina
- height 15 3/4 in.
- 40 cm
Literature
M. Poletti & A. Richarme, Barye: Catalogue Raisonnée des Sculptures, Paris, 2000, p. 256, no. A 122
Condition
Overall in good original condition with the usual wear to the patina in places consistent with handling. Light scratches and dents consistent with age. The bottom back half of the sculpture with residue with residue of white plaster. The bronze will need to be cleaned and waxed in order to go be returned to its original presentation.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
From 1823 Barye frequented the menagerie of the Musée nationale d'histoire naturelle, where he could scrutinise the wild animals preserved in their natural attitudes. Another such occasion was called to his attention by his friend Delacriox in a letter: 'Le lion est mort. Au galop. Le temps qu'il fait nous activer'. The lion in question was one of Admiral Rigny's great lions in the Paris Menagerie whose corpse had been transferred to the Laboratoire d'Anatomie. There the painter and sculptor took anatomical drawings from the carcass and the lion was placed in a number of lifelike positions, including being suspended with paws extended in the manner of the Cheval Surpris. From this Barye created a composition with a rearing horse, quoting from antique originals and Giambologna's Lion Attacking a Horse, but reinterpreting them through Romantic realism.
The motif of the rearing horse and lion appears with some adaptions in another Barye composition - the Deux Cavaliers arabes tuant un lion. There are casts of the Cheval Surpris in the Louvre Museum, the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore and the Metropolitan Museum, New York.
The motif of the rearing horse and lion appears with some adaptions in another Barye composition - the Deux Cavaliers arabes tuant un lion. There are casts of the Cheval Surpris in the Louvre Museum, the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore and the Metropolitan Museum, New York.