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04463_-_36.8.2

BARYE, Antoine-Louis

Paris 1795 - Paris 1875

Maker: Barbedienne

Python étouffant une gazelle

Python Crushing a Gazelle

c. 1841

bronze

group

Dimensions (HxWxD): 6 12 x 15 12 x 6 in.

signed at front right: A.L. Barye
inscribed at rear right: F. Barbedienne, Fondeur

Acc. No.: 36.8.2

Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. George R. Frost

Photo credit: Image courtesy of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

© Artist : public domain

© Artist : public domain

Provenance

  • 1936, Gift of Mrs. George R. Frost

Bibliography

  • Museum's website, accessed July 27, 2018

Exhibitions

  • 1980 Courtland
    The Romantic Bronzes, Courtland, VA, Walter Cecil Rawls Museum and Library, November 20-December 16, 1980

Comment

  • Museum's website, August 1, 2018 :
    The Parisian zoo at the Jardin des Plantes opened a reptile house in 1838. There Barye would observe firsthand the spectacular feeding habits of large constrictors. The gruesome scene of a defenseless gazelle eliciting the viewer’s sympathy both fascinates and repels. Adding to the terror of the scene, Barye shows the python not only encircling the gazelle’s body but also savagely biting its throat, an inaccurate portrayal of the snake’s behavior.