Theseus Slaying the Minotaur

To familiarize himself with nature, Barye frequented assiduously the botanical and zoological gardens of his native Paris. His first success as a sculptor came in 1831. Truly excellent in his depictions of animals (he was a painter also), he has a place among the most forceful French sculptors and Romantic masters of the 19th century. This statue shows how he drew inspiration from antiquity, adding to it the profound acquaintance with anatomy, the keen sense of life, and the qualities of power and tension in expression that are characteristic of his genius.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 3 minutes): Jean-Baptiste Lully: Theseus, overture