Lion Crushing a Snake
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Object Label
Antoine-Louis Barye was renowned for his anatomically accurate animal sculptures, which often portray scenes of predatory violence. After this composition debuted in plaster at the 1833 Salon, the government commissioned a large bronze version to place outside the Tuileries Palace. The subject was understood as a political allegory about King Louis-Philippe’s rise to power in the July Revolution of 1830. The noble lion, the zodiac sign for July, represented the new king and the people of France, while the snake he defeats symbolized the despotic reign of his predecessor, King Charles X.
Throughout his life Barye spent hours sketching and dissecting animals at the Jardin des Plantes zoo and Museum of Natural History, colonial institutions that enabled him to study animals from around the world without leaving Paris.
Caption
Antoine-Louis Barye French, 1795–1875. Lion Crushing a Snake. Bronze, With base: 10 1/2 x 8 x 13 1/2 in. (26.7 x 20.3 x 34.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased by Special Subscription, 10.178. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 10.178_front_PS2.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
Lion Crushing a Snake
Geography
Place made: France
Medium
Bronze
Classification
Dimensions
With base: 10 1/2 x 8 x 13 1/2 in. (26.7 x 20.3 x 34.3 cm)
Markings
On underside, in orange crayon (?): CJL
Credit Line
Purchased by Special Subscription
Accession Number
10.178
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
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