Bear Killing Bull
1810–75
Medium
Watercolor on wove paper
Dimensions
Sheet: 8 3/8 x 13 3/4 in. (21.3 x 35cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
Accession Number
29.100.578
Tags
Art Historical Context
Antoine-Louis Barye *Bear Killing Bull* (ca. 1810–75) captures a raw, visceral moment of animal combat in watercolor on wove paper, 8 3/8 x 13 3/4 inches. The French artist, renowned as a master of the animalier style—a Romantic movement celebrating the wild ferocity of nature—depicts a bear overpowering a bull with tension and anatomical precision. Barye primarily celebrated for his bronze sculptures of beasts in dramatic poses, here showcases his drawing prowess, using fluid watercolor washes to evoke fur textures, muscle strain, and the chaos of the kill. This work reflects 19th-century fa...
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...