Hand patinated reproduction. Mold made from a print of the original work made by Barye.
Breaking with the long tradition that saw in the animal only an accessory, a decorative motif or, at best, a form of allegory, the sculptor Barye was interested in the animals themselves, carefully studying their anatomy, seeking to grasp them, in their attitudes as in their movements.
Antoine-Louis Barye (1796-1875) thus escapes the servitude of conventional art; he is one of the greatest animal artists of all time, as his "Cheval Piaffant", whose ardour can be felt, testifies.
