Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Large Lion
(18th and 19th Centuries )
"Large Lion" shows a monumental lion staring directly at the viewer. Barye places the animal against an expansive landscape and an almost surreal orange sunset. This watercolor demonstrates well Barye's idiosyncratic technique of building up his surfaces in a manner similar to the way he built up clay in his sculptures. The analogy between his watercolors and sculptures was noted by several contemporary commentators. Philippe Burty, for example, likened his watercolors to "painted low reliefs," ("Ventes d'Aquarelles, de Dessins et de Tableaux," Gazette des Beaux-Arts, February 1, 1859). Here, Barye uses a scraper to render the whiskers and mane of the lion in a "sgraffito" technique, while his fingerprints are discernible in a passage of pink watercolor at top right.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Barye Sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, February 7-12, 1876, lot 166; Hector Brame (1831-1899), Paris; William T. Walters, Baltimore, January 27, 1887, by purchase [George A. Lucas as agent]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1894, by inheritance; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2014-2016 | From Rye to Raphael: The Walters Story. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 2005-2006 | The Essence of Line: French Drawings from Ingres to Degas. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore; Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham; Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma. |
| 1983 | A Connoisseur's Portfolio: Nineteenth-century Drawings and Watercolors in the Walters Art Gallery. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1889-1890 | The Works of Antoine-Louis Barye. American Art Gallery (New York), New York. |
| 1875-1889 | Exposition Barye. École des beaux-arts, Paris, Paris; École des beaux-arts, Paris, Paris. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 6/13/1978 | Treatment | mounted |
| 6/7/1989 | Treatment | examined for exhibition; other |
| 1/1/2002 | Treatment | loss compensation; examined for exhibition; mounted; other |
Geographies
France (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 12 3/4 x W: 19 9/16 in. (32.4 x 49.7 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by William T. Walters, 1887
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
37.827