Tiger Rolling on Its Back
1810–75
Medium
Watercolor on heavy wove paper
Dimensions
Sheet: 9 3/16 x 11 5/8 in. (23.3 x 29.5cm)
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
29.100.586
Tags
Art Historical Context
Antoine-Louis Barye a pioneering French sculptor of the Romantic era (1796–1875), masterfully captured the wild energy of animals in his works, earning him the title "father of the animalier school." *Tiger Rolling on Its Back*, delicate watercolor on heavy wove paper (9 3/16 x 11 5/8 in.), showcases his keen observation of nature. Though best known for dynamic bronze sculptures of beasts in motion—studied live at Paris's Jardin des Plantes—this drawing reveals his skill in two dimensions, likely a preparatory study highlighting the tiger's playful yet powerful roll. Created during Barye's pr...
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...