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Antoine-Louis Barye
Antoine-Louis Barye was born in Paris on September 15, 1796, the son of a goldsmith who had recently moved from Lyon. The family was probably poor since it is said that Antoine-Louis did not get around to learning to read until he was twelve years old. He had no formal schooling and was completely self-taught, relying entirely on his own reading, prodigious memory and acute powers of observations.
Barye's lifelong intimacy with metal began at the age of thirteen when he was apprenticed to a die-maker called Fourrier who produced military decorations. Here he remained for four years and it was during this time that he developed an interest in the art of medal engraving which eventually led him to sculpture.
His career was interrupted for two years in 1812 when he was drafted into the army at the age of 16. He was attached to an engineer's corps and engaged in topographical modelling, sculpting 'reliefs' for the forthcoming battles. After his release from the army Barye entered the studio of the academic sculptor Bosio. Bosio was a purist for convention and this straight jacket of regimented style left Barye infatuated with the natural, with frankness and with truth....... The contemporary critic, Gustave Plant, suggests 'It is to the timid uncertain method of Bosio that we owe the boldness seen in all of Barye's work'.
Without leaving Bosio, Barye entered the studio of the great artist the Baron Goss, here he found inspiration from the exciting canvasses depicting tumultuous battle scenes - rearing horses with flowing manes, riders with plumes billowing - the romantic conception which Barye was later to capture so magnificently in his sculpture.
In 1823 Barye went to work for the goldsmith Fauconnier. For eight years he modelled all manner of small ornamental and decorative objects learning this meticulous craft. During these years Barye was a regular at the Jardin des Plantes, or the Paris Zoo, where he studied live animals in their cages and with the help of the keepers he was able to attend dissections of dead animals as well as studying their preserved skeletons.
In 1831 Barye showed for the first time at the Salon. The success of his group Tiger devouring a Gavial changed everything. This group was purchased by the Minister for the Interior for the Luxembourg Palace and from this time on he received commissions and acquired patrons. In 1833 he showed another sensational work, the Lion and Serpent. This exhibition was to be a great step forward for Barye. The Lion and Serpent was acquired by the State: also King Louis-Phillipe's sons, the Duc d'Orleans and the Duc de Nemours, purchased several works.
With this Royal patronage Barye set up his own foundry and sales gallery in 1839. By 1847 he had formed a business partnership with Emile Martin and they produced a catalogue listing 107 different works in a price range from 5 francs to 1,000 francs. All casts of each group listed were numbered as they left the foundry.
Barye's great original talent as an animal sculptor is without parallel. He not only astonished and disturbed the conventional attitude towards the animal world in art, but was also able to give us creatures, within the confines of small sculpture, whose natural grandeur, power and dignity were enhanced.
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