A Jaguar Devouring a Deer
after 1840
Medium
transfer watercolor on heavy wove paper
Dimensions
5 5/8 x 9 5/16 in. (14.3 x 23.7 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Robert Lehman Collection
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
Accession Number
1975.1.568
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the Robert Lehman Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art,-Louis Barye's *A Jaguar Devouring a* (after 1840) captures raw moment of nature's ferocity. This intimate drawing, measuring just 5⅝ × 9¼ inches, depicts a powerful jaguar mid-feast on its prey, embodying Barye's lifelong fascination with wild animals. A leading French sculptor of the Romantic era (1796–1875), Barye pioneered the *animalier* style—istic, anatomically precise portrayals of beasts that bridged fine art and natural history, influencing generations of sculptors. Rendered in transfer watercolor on heavy wove paper,...
About the Artist
Antoine-Louis Barye · 1795–1875
Antoine-Louis Barye (1795–1875) was born in Paris on September 24, the son of goldsmith Pierre Barye and Marguerite Barye. Following family tradition, he apprenticed as a goldsmith under his father and, around 1810, with Martin-Guillaume Biennais, goldsmith to Napoleon. After brief military service, Barye pursued sculpture, studying under François-Joseph Bosio in 1816 and painter Baron Antoine-Jea...