Antoine-Louis Barye

with white labels numbered: 252 and 115 on the underside

Antoine-Louis Barye, Atelier, 12, rue Beautreillis, Paris
his sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, Vente Barye, 7-12 February 1876, lot 702, purchased by Leon-Lucien Goupil for Ferdinand Barbedienne
his sale, Paris, Vente Barbedienne, 1889, lot 41, purchased by Jacques Michel de Zoubaloff
his sale, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, Le collection Jacques Zoubaloff, 16-17 June 1927, lot 174, sold at FF9000
Eduardo Guinle, Brazil
his sale, Christie's New York, Barye bronzes. An important private colection, 25 April 2003, lot 33

Overall the condition of the bronze is very good. There is some minor wear and dirt to the surface consistent with age, including a few minor nicks, such as to the edges of the base. Both legs on the horse's proper right side and the tail were cast separately; joints are slightly visible at the base of the tail, top of the legs, rear ankle and at the base around the proper right hooves. There is a small fissure to the proper left back ankle. There are a few plugs, including to the proper left side of the horse's body. There is a hole between the buttocks. There is a larger nick to the metal support below the horse's body. There are one or two very small casting lacunae. There are some scratches or a possible original plug to the horse's back.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Once described by Théophile Gautier as the ‘Michelangelo of the menagerie’ (op. cit.) Antoine-Louis Barye was undoubtedly the leading animalier of the nineteenth-century. The present bronze is a rare foundry chef-modèle, used by editeurs to cast reproductions.

Despite the suggestion in its name that it is a reduction of a larger work, Cheval demi-sang, tête levée, réduction is, in fact, an independent sculpture, cast intentionally as a small object of intrinsic decorative value. With small dimensions, the work has lost none of Barye’s characteristic fine detail for anatomy and ability to create a sense of vitality.

In contrast to other models by Barye, of animals engaged in fights or under extreme physical duress, such as Cheval attaqué par un tigre, illustrated in Poletti and Richarme (op. cit. inv. no. A123), the present horse represents a stiller, statelier animal. It is in his ability to depict animals in such varying forms and circumstances with an equal level of technical skill, and while evoking an equally real sense of distinctive character, that Barye has earned his reputation as the master of animal bronzes. Quoted in Johnston and Kelly, Rodin noted that Barye is ‘the great man of our century’ (op. cit.)

RELATED LITERATURE
T. Gautier, Les beaux-arts en Europe, Paris, 1855, vol. ii, p. 180; M. Poletti and A. Richarme, Barye. Catalogue raisonné des sculptures, Gallimard, 2000, p. 258 and 261, nos. A123 and A125 (2); S. Pivar, The Barye bronzes. Catalogue raisonée, Woodbridge, 1990, p. 220, no. A148; W. R. Johnston and S. Kelly, Untamed. The Art of Antoine-Louis Barye, Munich, London and New York, 2009, p. vii