Antoine-Louis Barye (Paris 1795 - 1875)

Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge, New York, until 1961.

Antoine-Louis Barye was known for his hyper-realistic bronzes of the animal kingdom, but he also made an impressive series of decorative objects. The present candelabras appear almost otherworldly. Serpents coil sinuously up the stems; twisting poppies punctuate the composition; and parakeets perch at the summit of each. Below, small turtles crouch, serving as whimsical feet that support the bronze structures. This pair exemplifies Barye's expertise as a bronzier and a sculptor.

These elements—the snakes’ scales, the curling poppy leaves, and the finely observed details of the turtles—all showcase Barye’s extraordinarily sensitive and precise handling of natural forms. The ornate, sumptuous decoration of the present works eschew the aesthetics of the then burgeoning genre of Art Nouveau and rather aligns itself with the whimsy of the Rococo style.¹

Despite their technical virtuosity, the candelabra were a commercial failure. Michael Poletti and Alain Richarme suggest that only about fifteen editions were cast during Barye’s lifetime, with even fewer examples produced posthumously.² Today, fine casts of these models are in the Musée du Louvre, Paris (accession numbers: OA 5869a and OA 5869b).

¹M. Poletti & A. Richarme, Barye, Catalogue raisonné des sculptures, Paris 2000, pp. 377-378, no. D 11.

²Ibid.

RELATED LITERATURE

S. Pivar, The Barye bronzes, catalogue raisonée, Woodbridge 1981, cat. no. D8, p. 255.