Barthélemy Prieur (circa 1536-1611) French, late 16th century

Overall the condition of the bronze is good with wear and some dirt to the surface consistent with age. There are remnants of a golden reddish brown and a dark brown lacquer patina in the crevices. There are a few minor nicks to the surface including to the mane at the back of the neck and the tip of the tail. There is a stable hairline fissure around the proper left ankle of the hind leg. There are several expertly fitted original patches visible on the surface. There is some wear to the paint on the edges of the wooden base
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Together with Lion attacking a horse and Lion devouring a doe, the Lion walking is one of three models for small bronzes of lions that seem to appear in inventories associated with Barthelémy Prieur. Both in the 1586 inventaire après décès of Prieur’s wife and that of the sculptor himself from 1611, references are made to three lions among the many small statuettes that the sculptor had in his workshop.  In addition, two Lions devouring a Doe and a Lion with his paw in the air (surely describing the present model), are listed with various other models associated with Prieur in the inventory of the collection of André le Nôtre in 1700 (see Wengraf, op.cit., p. 292). Given the great number of small bronzes recorded in his workshop upon his death, and the many wonderful bronzes associated with him today, Prieur was among the most prolific and successful makers of bronzes of his time.

The three models are closely related: all three lions have a fierce, almost stylised facial expression and wig-like manes from which rounded, furry ears protrude. Their bodies are elongated and slender with the hind legs placed far apart to suggest forward motion. Compared to the casts of the Walking lion in public collections, namely those in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (inv. no. 32.100.164) and in the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection in Madrid (K28B), the present bronze seems to have a more finely worked mane. The animal’s frown is less outspoken than the cast in Madrid but similar to the cast in New York. The rubbed reddish brown patina is a feature of all three casts. Radcliffe lists three further casts in his discussion of the lion in Madrid, one in the Castello Sforzesco in Milan and two in private collections (op.cit., p. 296, n. 2). The latter may be identified with the present cast, a Walking lion sold as part of the collection of Arthur Sackler at Sotheby’s New York, 29 January 2010, lot 425, or one at Sotheby’s Paris, 17 June 2015, lot 183.

RELATED LITERATURE
A. Radcliffe, M. Baker, and M. Maek-Gérard, Renaissance and later sculpture with works of art in bronze, cat. The Thyssen-Bornemisza collection, Stuttgart, 1992, pp. 296-298, no. 57; P. Wengraf (ed.), Renaissance & Baroque bronzes from the Hill collection, exh. cat. The Frick Collection New York, London, 2014, pp. 290-295, no. 28