Leopard

model 1831, cast by 1874

Antoine-Louis Barye

Associated Names
Antoine-Louis Barye

Sculptor, French, 1795 - 1875

The sculpture depicts a relief of a large cat in profile as it walks or prowls sideways. It is crafted from green-colored material, likely oxidized bronze, giving it a slightly mottled appearance with variations of darker and lighter green. The feline's form is carved into a rectangular plaque set within a framed structure. The frame has a green patina matching the central relief. Two decorative elements resembling ornamental finials are symmetrically placed on top of the frame. The overall appearance is flat with the feline figure distinct yet integrated into the surrounding material.

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On View

West Building Ground Floor, Gallery G21

Artwork overview

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Purchased 1874 from the artist by the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington;[1] acquired 2015 by the National Gallery of Art.
[1] The sculpture is one of 116 bronzes acquired in two groups directly from the artist, one in 1873 and the other in 1874. According to the Register of Bronzes Etc. Belonging to the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the group acquired in 1874 was ordered for the Corcoran by William T. Walters (1819-1894), the prominent Baltimore collector and a Corcoran trustee, through George A. Lucas (1824-1909), an American-born dealer living in Paris. (See: "Register of Bronzes Etc. Belonging to the Corcoran Gallery of Art," 1873-1946, Record Group 5.1 [COR.0005.1.RG], Gallery registrar's office records, 1869-2007, Series 1: Accessions 1869- [inclusive], Special Collections Research Center, George Washington University Libraries, Washington, DC; accessed on-line 30 November 2016: https://archive.org/details/corc_registerofbronzes).

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1975

  • Les Animaliers: Antoine Barye and His Followers, Memorial Art Gallery of University of Rochester, 1975.

1978

  • Antoine Louis Barye: A Selection of Bronzes from the Permanent Collection, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, 5 July - 10 September 1978.

Bibliography

2000

  • Poletti, Michel, and Alain Richarme. Barye: catalogue raisonné des sculptures. Paris, 2000: 360, under A220.

Inscriptions

lower right: BARYE

Wikidata ID

Q63863599

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