Antoine-louis Bary, Panther Devouring A Hare, Louvre Plaster Cast

Antoine-Louis Barye is one of the major figures of 19th-century animal sculpture. Renowned for the power and precision of his observation, he infuses his works with a rare intensity, where muscular tension and movement convey the full force of the animal world. His sculptures, at once naturalistic and dramatic, make a profound mark on the history of Romantic sculpture.

Created in 1831 and exhibited at the Paris Salon, La Panthère devourant un lièvre is one of his most emblematic works. It depicts a moment of violence captured in all its brutality, where predator and prey are frozen in a dynamic, perfectly mastered composition. This work was a great success and was widely distributed in bronze throughout the 19th century.

The plaster cast in the Louvre, such as this approximately 114 cm long example dating from around 1880, is part of the tradition of reproductions intended for teaching and artistic dissemination. These prints were particularly prized by the Parisian bourgeoisie, who saw in them a means of gaining access to the great models of sculpture, thus decorating interiors and private collections with works from the museum's heritage.