Seated Lion

Description Barye's life-size version of this sculpture was commissioned in 1847, based on a model from the 1830s. A companion piece to his "Lion Crushing a Serpent" of 1833, "Seated Lion" was placed in the Tuileries Garden in Paris in 1848. There is a life-size replica in Mount Vernon Place. Noble and strong, the lion traditionally represented royalty in French art. Here as Leo, sign of the zodiac for July/August, it alludes to Louis Philippe who came to the throne following the July Revolution of 1830. Barye produced reductions of "Seated Lion" with varying detail: this one has a sterner expression than the monumental prototype. Barye wanted to reach a broad, middle class audience. Casting in bronze permitted large editions of the same piece at affordable prices.

Exhibitions

• The Allure of Bronze. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1995.

Provenance William T. / Henry Walters Collection, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by William T. or Henry Walters