ANTOINE-LOUIS BARYE
French, 1796-1875

Tiger Devouring a Gavial Crocodile of the Ganges (premiére reduction)

Patinated sand-cast bronze | modeled in 1831, cast posthumously circa 1890, signed in cast "BARYE", remnants of illegible old editeur or founder label to underside

Item # 312RGU01C 

Having captured in his grasp a Gavial crocodile of the Ganges, there is a patient determination in the confident posture of the Tiger that leaves the viewer in active admiration of this powerful predator. The snarling Gavial hardly draws our sympathy, as perilous his situation, for there is no fear in his eyes as his writhing body and snapping thin jaws seek any weakness for escape. Despite being a posthumous cast, the level of detail is spectacular with excellent preservation of the Tiger's stripes, exquisite capture of the scales of the crocodile's skin and fine handling of the smallest elements: the eyes, the crisp claws, the small turtle caught in the mix.

Barye's presentation of the plaster "Tigre Dévorant un Gavial" at Salon in 1831 changed the course of his career. It was the moment he became recognized as a serious talent. And while in critic circles the debate raged on regarding whether his depictions of animals constituted art in the Classical sense or whether his creations were mere decorative representations, the validity of his studies were summed up in this work. Etienne-Jean Delecluze wrote in his criticism of the Salon that Barye's study was "the strongest and most significant work of the entire Salon". Théophile Gautier wrote about Tigre Devorant un Gavial noting "what energy, what ferocity, what a thrill of satisfied lust for killing shows in the flattened ears, the savage gleaming eyes, the curved nervous back, the clutching paws, the rocking haunches, and the writhing tail of the tiger, and how the poor scaly monster doubles in agony under those cutting teeth and jaws".

After exhibition, Barye offered the sculpture in two reduced models. After his death in 1875, the model was edited by Brame and offered in three sizes and towards the turn of the century the smallest edition was offered by the Delafontaine foundry.

The present model is the mid-size dimension at a total width of 20", noted as his "première reduction" in the catalogues and being almost exactly half the dimension of the "grandeur originale" which was offered in 105.6 cm (roughly 41"). It was executed using the sand-casting method in bronze and was finished in a dark brown, green and medium-brown patination. Note the exquisite texture retained in the surface throughout, this all captured directly through the mold to the surface of the bronze with almost no cold-tooling evident. The tiger's stripes, the stippled texture of his fur, the brilliant development of the scaled leather on the gavial and the naturalistic modeling of the base are all captured with utmost fidelity to the original model. The model is devoid of a foundry mark, though the label on the underside might provide some clue with further research as there are traces of the edge border that might be matched up with other foundry/editeur labels in the future.

Artist Listings & Bibliography:

• Barye: Catalogue Raisonné des Sculptures, Poletti & Richarme, 2000, p. 205 A74 (2)
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art, acc. no. 10.108.2
• The Saint Louis Art Museum, acc. no. 256:1915
• The National Gallery of Art, acc. no. 2015.19.3832
• The Walters Art Museum, acc. no. 27.154
• The Philadelphia Museum of Art, acc. no. 2008-9-6

Measurements: 7 1/2" H x 8" D x 20" W

Condition Report:
Exquisite state of preservation and a fine presentation: minor trace wear and rubbing to the patina throughout; carefully cleaned and polished.