Antoine-Louis Barye
Lion Crushing a Serpent
1837-1908
Physical Qualities
Bronze, brown patina, 10-1/4 H x 13-1/2 W x 6-3/4 D in.
Credit Line
The George A. Lucas Collection, purchased with funds from the State of Maryland, Laurence and Stella Bendann Fund, and contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations throughout the Baltimore community
Object Number
1996.46.33
Seated lion on rocky terrain with head bent downward and turned to proper left, snarling mouth open, holding down a coiled serpent with its proper right forepaw (claws extended). The lion's proper left foreleg is resting on the ground, and its tail, also resting on the ground, is curled around its proper left hind flank. Individual knobby vertebrae are visible on the lion's back. The serpent's head is raised, mouth open, and fangs exposed. Base: irregular oval ground with rim.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by purchase, 1996; from Maryland Institute, College of Art, Baltimore, by gift 1910; from Henry Walters, Baltimore, by bequest 1909; from George Aloysius Lucas, Paris
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "The George A. Lucas Collection", October 12-November 21, 1965.
The J.B. Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY, November 12-December 27, 1970.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Barye: Contrasting Viewpoints", August 12-September 28,1975.
Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, "Metamorphoses in Nineteenth-Century Sculpture", November 19, 1975-January 7, 1976.
The Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, May 1-3, 1984.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "The George A. Lucas Collection: Maryland's Treasure", circulated to Strathmore Hall, North Bethesda, September 4-November 1, 1997; Academy of the Arts, Easton, January 31-March 7, 1998; and Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagerstown, July 26-September 27, 1998.
The J.B. Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY, November 12-December 27, 1970.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Barye: Contrasting Viewpoints", August 12-September 28,1975.
Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, "Metamorphoses in Nineteenth-Century Sculpture", November 19, 1975-January 7, 1976.
The Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, May 1-3, 1984.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "The George A. Lucas Collection: Maryland's Treasure", circulated to Strathmore Hall, North Bethesda, September 4-November 1, 1997; Academy of the Arts, Easton, January 31-March 7, 1998; and Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagerstown, July 26-September 27, 1998.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, "The George A. Lucas Collection," October 12-November 21, 1965, no. 381.
Inscribed: Top of base: back/proper left, stamped 'BARYE'. Two stickers (back/center): L.64.15.40; BMA cat. #381. Black ink, lettering (back/center): 'MODERN'.
