Fawn Scratching
model before 1847
Medium
bronze
Dimensions
overall: 7 × 15.2 × 7.6 cm (2 3/4 × 6 × 3 in.)
Classification
Sculpture
Department
CSD
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon
Accession Number
1999.79.2
Art Historical Context
Antoine-Louis Barye a pioneering French sculptor of the Romantic era, crafted *Fawn Scratching* a bronze model before 1847. This sculpture (7 × 15.2 × 7.6 cm) captures a young deer in a moment of natural grace, mid-scratch, showcasing Barye's mastery of animalier sculpture—the realistic depiction of wildlife that earned him fame in 19th-century Paris. from live observations at the Jardin des Plantes zoo, Barye infused his works with anatomical precision and dynamic energy, distinguishing them from the neoclassical ideals of his time. Cast in bronze, a medium Barye favored for its durability a...
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...