Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Tiger Devouring a Gavial (First Reduction)
(18th and 19th Centuries )
When a plaster model for this sculpture appeared in the Paris Salon of 1831, critics were astonished by the choice of an animal theme over a more conventional human subject. One critic praised the manner in which Barye expressed both the suffering of the gavial (an Indian crocodile with a narrow snout) and the grim determination of the tiger. He also admired the sculptor's ability to portray a subject that he could never actually have witnessed.
This particular piece bears the stamp, of A Victor Paillard (1805-1886) a Bourbon crown over the letters VP. His foundry was noted for the quality of the casting. There is a certain lack of clarity to the impression of the stamp, which led experts to consider the possibility that the bronze was a surmoulage (a cast after another cast), but this opinion has now been rejected.
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.
William T. Walters, Baltimore, prior to 1889 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1894, by inheritance; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2007-2008 | Untamed: The Art of Antoine-Louis Barye. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa; The Henry Morrison Flagler Museum, Palm Beach. |
| 1889-1890 | The Works of Antoine-Louis Barye. American Art Gallery (New York), New York. |
Geographies
France, Paris (Place of Origin)
Measurements
7 7/8 x 20 3/16 x 7 1/4 in. (20 x 51.3 x 18.4 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by William T. Walters, before 1889
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.
27.154