Antoine-Louis Barye was a French sculptor and painter, born in Paris in 1795 and died in 1875, who is regarded as the leading figure of the animalier school of sculpture. He specialised in dramatic and closely observed studies of animals, particularly big cats, snakes, horses, bears and birds of prey, often shown hunting or in combat.
Barye trained as a metal craftsman and engraver before studying sculpture, and he made careful studies of animals at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. His Lion Crushing a Serpent, exhibited at the Paris Salon in the early 1830s, made his reputation, and he later became professor of zoological drawing at the Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle. He ran his own foundry business to produce bronze editions in various sizes for a wider public, and after his death many of his models were acquired by the foundry of Ferdinand Barbedienne, which continued to cast them. His work influenced a generation of animaliers including Pierre-Jules Mêne and Isidore Bonheur. Lifetime casts, finely chased with rich patination, command a premium, while later and posthumous casts and outright copies are common, so careful examination of quality and foundry marks is essential.
