Antoine-Louis Barye

Sale: Sotheby's, London, 24 November 1999, lot 23
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Overall the condition of the bronze is very good, with minor dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. There is some very subtle restoration to the stem of the tail. There are a few minor scratches, including a very small area of scratching to the proper right haunch and some to the abdomen. There are a few minor nicks, including one to the proper left haunch, and some to the left corner of the base below the horse's front. There is a small spot of dirt behind the mane on the horse's proper left side, and there are a few minor specks of dirt around the sides of the base.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

'Le Michel-Ange de la Ménagerie' was the tribute given to Barye by the celebrated French art critic Théophile Gautier. Considered the inventor and undisputed master of animalier sculpture, Barye created an exceptional oeuvre parallel to that of his friend, the painter Eugène Delacroix (lot 23). Barye used animal subjects to represent the extremes of power and emotion which were central to the Romantic movement, thereby challenging the accepted hierarchy of subject matter in the French artistic establishment. The Cheval turc is generally regarded as the model which most powerfully epitomises his unique sculptural vision. 

Barye learnt his sculptural technique in the studio of François-Joseph Bosio, a favourite sculptor of the Napoleonic court. He continued his studies under the painter Antoine-Jean Gros, the successor of neo-classicist Jacques-Louis David. But perhaps the most formative studies Barye undertook were his own visits to the Paris zoo, the Jardin des Plantes, where he sketched the animals directly from nature. As an emblem of Romanticism the Cheval turc finds its painted counterpart in Delacroix's canvases, for example in the rearing horse in his Massacre at Chios in the Louvre, Paris.

Infused as it is with the Romantic spirit of Barye's own age, the Cheval turc also recalls the Antique equestrian group of Marcus Aurelius and the Renaissance precedent of Leonardo's drawings of a rearing horse, studies for a monument to Francesco Sforza which was never erected. As a talented draughtsman Barye produced thousands of drawings and the strong silhouettes of his compositions, particularly evident in the present model, derive from his draughtsman's sense of shape and profile which he expertly transposed into three dimensions. The Cheval Turc triumphantly presents Barye's supreme grasp of anatomy and drama and, as the author of the 1844 Besse catalogue wrote, 'the only feeling that one can experience upon seeing it is a deep admiration both for one of nature's most noble creatures and the talent of its delineator'.

The success of the Cheval Turc persuaded Barye to issue four different versions of the model, two with rectangular bases (as in the present example) and with either front right or left leg raised, and two with oval bases, again with front right or left leg raised. Cheval turc No. 2 was, in fact, the first model edited, with Cheval turc No. 1, a slightly less stylised model, being offered as a new model in 1874. Created circa 1840, the present design is described as Cheval marchant in the 1844 Besse catalogue, and the variants with front right and left leg raised respectively are presented as pendants in Barye's 1860 catalogue.

The present bronze is a particularly fine and rare lifetime cast with a beautiful patina. It is stamped BARYE 8, thereby firmly locating it within Barye's own lifetime.

RELATED LITERATURE
William R. Johnston, Simon Kelly, Untamed. The Art of Antoine-Louis Barye, Munich, London and New York, 2006, no. 57, pp. 158-9
Michel Poletti, Alain Richarme, Barye. Catalogue raisonné des sculptures, Paris, 2000, no. A128, pp. 265-266