Insight | Antoine-Louis Barye
November 1st 2023
We are moving forward with our insight series, and after a hugely popular Barbedienne blog, we thought it would be prudent to stay within the same sector but focus on the earlier Animalia bronze sculptor Antoine-Louis Barye. Who coincidentally is mentioned in the Barbedienne blog after Barbedienne purchased Barye’s drawings. So, in this Insight, we are focusing on the life and history behind one of the world’s most famous Animalia bronze workers, Antoine-Louis Barye.
Portrait of Antoine-Louis Barye
Antoine-Louis Barye was born in 1795 in Paris, France and through his earlier years, received very little formal schooling. It was believed that Barye acquired his knowledge of liberal arts through his own education. Like many sculptors from the romantic period he initially worked under his father Pierre a goldsmith from Lyons, he also had a small stint with a metal engraver in military equipment acquiring the basic skills he would carry forward into 1810 when he began working under the sculptor Martin-Guillaume Biennais a goldsmith to Napoleon. After serving in the army from 1812-1814, Barye continued his training with the fine art sculptor Francois-Joseph Bosio (1768-1845) and finally the painter Baron Gros (1771-1835). Barye, now full of a plethora of new metalworking and artistic skills, went on to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts from 1818 to 1823.
In 1819, Barye’s miniature medallion, which depicted Milo of Crotona Devoured by a Lion, won an honourable mention in metal engraving. Barye went on to further his technical ability from 1823-1831, working as a craftsman for the goldsmiths Jacques-Henri Fauconnier (1779-1839) before making his Salon debut in 1827 with a selection of busts. Working under Fauconnier, Barye discovered his true passion after watching the animals in the Jardin des Plantes. Barye made detailed studies of them in pencil, he then went onto model the drawings in sculpture which catapulted his devotion for Animalia.
Milo of Crotona Devoured by a Lion
It wasn’t until four years later, in the Salon of 1831, that Barye made arguably one of the most critical moves in his career, presenting groups of predators in the wild. After a successful campaign, Barye began to gain traction as a sculptor, and not long after, he was awarded his first government commission for the exact subject shown in 1833. The minister of the interior purchased Barye’s plaster Lion, which became known as the Lion Crushing a Serpent, and had it cast in bronze by Honore Gonon. It was exhibited in 1836 before being placed in the public Tuileries Gardens, which is now known as the Musee du Louvre in Paris. Barye was inundated with commissions from the government after the success, and he was commissioned for the July Column at the Place de la Bastille, inaugurated in 1840, a monumental effigy of Saint Clotilde for the Church of the Madeleine, Paris, in the early 1840s. A pendant Seated Lion for the Tuileries Lion Crushing a Serpent in 1846. Also, through these years, the royal family began buying and commissioning smaller-scale works from Barye for their own personal collections. Around 1834, the Duke of Orléans commissioned a highly publicised surtout de table (ornamental table centrepiece) representing hunts of different regions and historical periods. The Duke’s sister Marie Orléans and brother Duke Antoine Montpensier also took on commissions from Barye.
Barye was rejected from the Salon in 1837, which began the decline of commissions from exhibiting, and then after the death of Duke Orleans in 1842, Barye was unable to capitalise on Royal Patronage, so he turned his business into what became his most widely recognised to date. Barye cleverly began to market his sculptures on a smaller scale in series, allowing for a wider audience with the lower costs. Barye approached Maison Besse, a foundry in France that began producing his works in 1844, and then offered them directly to the public. The Foundry of la Maison Besse et Cie produced a catalogue offering sixty-two of his models for sale over.
Smaller Scale Jaguar Qui Marche No. 2 (Walking Jaguar) Antoine L Barye
(Available on Jacksons Antique)
Barye won the coveted Grand Gold Medal for technical excellence for a selection of his serial proofs in the industrial arts section of the Paris Universal Exposition of 1855. At the same time, he was awarded accolades in the fine arts section for his bronze Jaguar Devouring a Hare(Musée du Louvre, Paris).
After many years within the industry, Bayre, now a figurehead of the trade, aimed to pass on his knowledge and founded the Consultative Commission of the Central Union of the Arts Applied to Industry in 1863, also becoming its president. Bayer went on to hone his other professional skills during the Second Republic (1848–1852) and the Second Empire (1852-1870). In 1848, Barye served as director of plaster casting at the Louvre and curator of the gallery of plaster casts. In 1850, he taught drawing at the Versailles, and from 1854 until his death, he was a master of zoological drawing at the Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris. This is where the young Rodin briefly studied with him in 1863. After a host of high-profile jobs, his career as a sculptor was revived, and he once again received several government commissions, including the eagle reliefs for the Pont d’Iéna in 1849 and four allegorical seated groups of Strength, Order, Peace, and War for the facade of the Louvre in 1854 amongst many others. Barye also received two important government commissions, the imperial Napoleon I surmounting the Bonaparte family monument at Ajaccio, inaugurated in 1865 and a second Napoleon I for Grenoble, an 1862 commission he abandoned in 1866.
During the Second Empire (1852-1870), Barye was showered with accolades. These included the Légion d’Honneur (Legion of Honor) in 1833. He was promoted to chevalier in 1855. In 1868, he was elected to the Institut de France. After a long and revolutionary career, Antoine-Louis Barye died in Paris in 1875. Barye was buried at Père-Lachaise Cemetery.
Owner at Jacksons Antique
I am an antique dealer and owner of Jacksons Antique, specialising in fine antiques with a particular focus on Japanese art and European decorative objects. With over a decade of experience in the antiques trade, I source and curate pieces for collectors across the UK, the United States, and the international market.
Working primarily online alongside select exhibitions, I am part of a newer generation of dealers helping to modernise the way antiques are researched, presented, and acquired. My approach is built on careful attribution, transparent descriptions, and historically grounded research so clients can buy with confidence.
Through Jacksons Antique, I aim to make important historic objects accessible to both established collectors and those developing their collections.
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