Tiger
1810–75
Medium
Watercolor
Dimensions
Sheet: 4 11/16 x 6 15/16 in. (11.9 x 17.6cm)
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
29.100.577
Tags
Art Historical Context
Antoine-Louis Barye a pioneering French sculptor of the Romantic era (1796–1875),fully captured the wild essence of animals in his works, earning him the title "father of the animalier school." This intimate watercolor *Tiger*, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings Prints department, exemplifies his keen observation of nature. Rendered on a modest sheet measuring just 4 11/16 x 6 15/16 inches (11.9 x 17.6 cm), it likely served as a preparatory study, showcasing Barye's fluid brushwork and ability to convey ferocity and grace in a single, powerful form. Watercolor's translucent qualit...
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...