Antoine-Louis Barye – the artist who made all ill-wishers recognize the beauty and grandeur of the animal genre

Antoine-Louis Barye (September 24, 1795 – June 25, 1875) – a famous French artist of the 19th century, an outstanding sculptor and artist of the animal genre. He is one of the best masters of the romantic style in European fine art. His paintings and sculptures still amaze viewers with extraordinary dynamic tension and precision of the smallest details of the characters. The life and work of the artist are closely connected with his native Paris, and there are many significant events in his biography.

Antoine-Louis Barye was also a good mentor for young colleagues and devoted many years to a teaching career. His best student was his son Alfred (Alfred Barye), who, like his father, became a famous animal sculptor.

Biography

Antoine-Louis Barye was born on September 24, 1795 in the heart of France in the family of a hereditary jeweler. From early childhood, he helped his father with work in the workshop and by the age of 13 he had learned the basics of metalworking and chasing. In December 1816, young Barye began studying in the private studio of the sculptor François Joseph Bosio, and six months later, he began attending painting lessons with Antoine-Jean Gros.

In the summer of 1818, Antoine-Louis became a student at the Royal Academy of Arts. He studied at this prestigious institution for 7 years, repeatedly took part in competitions for the Rome Prize, but without success. During his studies at the academy, Bari mainly worked in the mythological genre, but most of all he liked to sculpt animal figures from clay. The young sculptor spent a lot of time at the Paris Zoo, where he painted sketches with images of all kinds of animals.

By the end of the 1820s, Antoine-Louis Barye finally decided on the main genre in his work – animalism. In 1831, he exhibited his works for the first time at the annual salon. The public coolly received the sculptural composition on a religious theme and the portrait painted by the young artist. But the bronze statuette “Tiger Devouring a Crocodile” and sketches with images of animals were a great success.

The master took part in two more salons (in 1833 and 1836), where his works were well received by critics. But in 1837, he unexpectedly received a categorical refusal from the management of the Academy of Arts to participate in the next exhibition. According to the organizers of the salon, animal painting was unfairly considered a second-rate genre of art, so the master’s works did not meet the classical criteria of painting and sculpture at all.

Stung by the offensive refusal, Antoine-Louis Barye had a serious quarrel with the management of the Academy of Arts and broke off all relations with them. He opened his own foundry and continued to create, despite the skepticism of most of his colleagues. The artist had great difficulty finding customers, often experienced financial difficulties and was on the verge of bankruptcy several times.

The period of difficult trials in the life of the master lasted until the early 1850s and ended with the rise to power of King Napoleon III in France. The newly-minted monarch turned out to be an ardent admirer of the artist’s work and even commissioned him to make several sculptures for the new building of the Louvre.

Gradually, Antoine-Louis Barye’s life began to settle into a measured course. He often visited Barbizon and became friends with many participants of the famous local school of painting. Far from the capital’s noise, the artist painted a number of watercolors and oil paintings depicting wild animals, but still did not dare to stay in the province and returned to Paris.

In October 1854, the sculptor was appointed professor of zoology of drawing at the Museum of Natural History and enthusiastically took up teaching. For 20 years, he enthusiastically taught young students to draw and sculpt animal figures, using available exhibits as visual aids.

In 1855, Barye took part in a grand event – the Second World Exhibition of Industry, Agriculture and Fine Arts. There he presented several of his works, but the sculpture “Jaguar Devouring a Hare” had the greatest success with the public. Parisian newspapers printed many flattering reviews of the artist’s work, vying with each other to praise his merits.

In 1868, the leadership of the Academy of Arts, under pressure from the king, critics and the public, finally awarded the aging master the title of full member. The artist rightfully became one of the most authoritative figures in the arts of France, but his creative career was rapidly approaching its end. He created his last work in 1869, after which he finally withdrew from active practical work.

In his declining years, the master experienced serious health problems and almost never appeared in society. And on June 25, 1875, Antoine-Louis Barye, surrounded by his family, died of a heart attack, three months before his 80th birthday. He was buried in the capital’s Pere Lachaise cemetery, where the best sons and daughters of France are buried