Tiger in Repose
ca. 1850–65
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
10 3/4 × 14 in. (27.3 × 35.6 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Eugene V. Thaw, 2015
Accession Number
2015.438
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the serene yet powerful *Tiger in Repose*, artist Antoine-Louis Barye captures the majestic stillness of a tiger at rest. Created around 1850–65, this intimate oil on canvas painting measures just 10¾ × 14 inches, inviting viewers to contemplate the wild beauty of its subject up close. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's European Paintings department, it reflects Barye's mastery of animal forms, honed through his renowned bronzes. Barye, a leading figure in 19th-century Romanticism and the animalier tradition—specializing in realistic depictions of wildlife—brings anatomical precisi...
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...