79 - ANTOINE-LOUIS BARYE (1795–1875)

ANTOINE-LOUIS BARYE (1795–1875) Walking Lion, known as the “Lion of the July Column,” a model created in 1836. Bronze cast with a dark patina, signed “Barye” with a point tool on the lower right of the base and bearing the foundry’s signature “F. Barbedienne” on the left. Presented in a carved wooden frame. Dimensions of the bronze: 54 × 27 cm. Dimensions with frame: 64 × 44 cm. A leading figure in French Romantic sculpture and the undisputed master of animal art in the 19th century, Antoine-Louis Barye profoundly revolutionized the depiction of animals through his rigorous observation of nature and his knowledge of anatomy—an approach he shared, in particular, with Eugène Delacroix. Designed in 1836 for the base of the July Column on Place de la Bastille in Paris, this marching lion is part of the decorative program of the monument commemorating the Three Glorious Days of 1830. Also known as the Zodiac Lion, it represents the astrological sign associated with the month of July. Cast in bronze by the Ferdinand Barbedienne foundry. This work is comparable to examples held in the collections of the Louvre Museum in Paris, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, and the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore. Bibliography: *Michel Poletti and Alain Richarme, *Barye: A Catalog Raisonné of Sculptures*, Paris, Gallimard, 2000; model listed under no. A218, p. 357.