Antoine-Louis Barye French, 1796 - 1875

M. Poletti & A. Richarme, Barye: Catalogue Raisonnée des Sculptures, Paris, 2000, p. 108, no. F32

Patina with some rubbing to high points due to cleaning and wear, specifically the legs and heads. Light surface scratches.
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.

Barye submitted Thésée combatant le minotaure to the Salon of 1843 with no success. However, the following year the Maison Besse reissued this bronze, calling it "one of the most beautiful works, one of the most energetic figures that modern sculpture has produced; subduing his enemy and ready to master him, the Greek hero has all the nobility, all the force, and all the pride that one would expect of this mythic figure." The figure of Theseus is based on a drawing by Henry Fuseli of an executioner which was taken in turn from a fresco of the Beheading of John the Baptist by Andrea del Sarto in the Monastero dello Scalzo, Florence. Further inspiration comes from a sheet of drawings of boxers by Géricault, Jacques-Louis David's Oath of the Horatii and by the Louvre's Apollo Piombino: an ancient Greek bronze which had been discovered in 1832. The strictly archaic Theseus, his hair stylised and linear and legs planted firmly apart, makes a composed combatant for the more romantically conceived minotaur. The contrast subtly underlines the triumph of good over evil. Roger Ballu, a 19th Century biographer of Barye, considered the model 'one of Barye's most masterful works and certainly one of the masterpieces of French sculpture'.