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Artist/Maker
Antoine-Louis Barye
(French, 1795 - 1875)
Datefirst cast c. 1874
MediumBronze
DimensionsOverall: 8 3/4 × 9 1/4 × 2 1/2 in. (22.2 × 23.5 × 6.4 cm)
Credit LineBequest of Philip W. Abell, Class of 1957
Object number1994.32
Not on view
Description"Industrial advances in bronze casting developed in Paris in the mid-nineteenth century increased the production of small bronze sculptures for domestic display. Numerous bronze foundries where artists could cast their work in editions opened throughout the city. A growing bourgeois class provided an ample market for these decorative sculptures. Simultaneously, the public’s interest shifted from Renaissance and Classical forms to the depiction of more familiar subject matter. Animals, for example, became a very popular subjects for bronzes. During this period, zoos emerged as a popular venues for leisure activity for the middle and lower classes, piquing the public’s interest in exotic animals while also allowing artists to work from direct observation. This trend resulted in the term animalier, used to describe artists who primarily depicted animals. The sculptors who designed these bronzes had an intimate understanding of muscularity and anatomy and translated this knowledge to their work to create active and dynamic figures—both animal and human." (Label text written by Katherine Alcauskas, Collections Curator and Exhibitions Manager, Summer 2016)
Additional Details
Exhibition History
1994
Clinton, NY (Fred L. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College). “A Discerning Eye: Philip W. Abell (1935-1993) A Memorial Exhibition,” September 23 - November 6, 1994 (brochure).
Clinton, NY (Fred L. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College). “A Discerning Eye: Philip W. Abell (1935-1993) A Memorial Exhibition,” September 23 - November 6, 1994 (brochure).
Provenance
1994: Hamilton College (Fred L. Emerson Gallery), by bequest of Philip Abell.
Markings
None noted.
Published References
Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College, "Acquisitions 1994," FRIENDS OF ART NEWSLETTER (August 1995);
A DISCERNING EYE: PHILIP W. ABELL (1935-1993) A MEMORIAL EXHIBITION, exh. brochure (Clinton, NY: Fred L. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College, 1994).
A DISCERNING EYE: PHILIP W. ABELL (1935-1993) A MEMORIAL EXHIBITION, exh. brochure (Clinton, NY: Fred L. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College, 1994).
Signature
Signed "BARYE" in cast on top of base at center right side.
Inscribed
"24" in cast on underside of base; "606" in cast on underside of base; "D" in cast on underside of base.
Antoine-Louis Barye
Date: modeled c. 1832
Medium: Bronze
Object number: 1994.21
Antoine-Louis Barye
Date: first offered 1845
Medium: Bronze
Object number: 1994.34
Antoine-Louis Barye
Date: first cast 1857
Medium: Bronze
Object number: 1994.14
Antoine-Louis Barye
Date: c. 1895 (first cast c. 1860)
Medium: Bronze
Object number: 1994.17
Antoine-Louis Barye
Date: first cast 1857
Medium: Bronze
Object number: 1994.26
Antoine-Louis Barye
Date: first cast c. 1874
Medium: Bronze
Object number: 1994.33
Antoine-Louis Barye
Date: first cast c. 1840
Medium: Bronze
Object number: 1994.35
Antoine-Louis Barye
Date: first cast 1857
Medium: Bronze
Object number: 1994.7
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
Date: 1776
Medium: Etching
Object number: 1987.14