Virginia stag
modeled 1831
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
4 × 5 1/2 in. (10.2 × 14 cm)
Classification
Medals and Plaquettes
Culture
French
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1912
Accession Number
12.149.4
Tags
Art Historical Context
Antoine-Louis Barye *Virginia Stag*, modeled in 1831, captures the essence of the North American white-tailed deer in compact bronze plaquette measuring just 4 × 5½ inches. This French sculptor's early work exemplifies his pioneering role in the animalier movement, where artists celebrated wildlife with unprecedented realism and dynamism during the Romantic era. Barye, who studied animals at the Paris zoos and menageries, infused his bronzes with anatomical precision and a sense of poised energy, making even small-scale pieces like this feel alive. Classified as a medal or plaquette—a collect...
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...