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Antoine-Louis Barye is famed for his animal sculptures. He often depicted the savagery of the animals in combat. The present mythological scene in a sense is also a sculpture of animal combat.
The group depicts the following mythological story. Theseus, one of the great heroes of Greek myth, was asked to attend the wedding of his good friend the king of the Lapiths. The king also invited the neighbours, the half-human, half-horse Centaurs. The Centaurs drank too much wine and tried to kidnap the bride. Theseus quickly stepped in, fighting them off and saving her.
Barye's profound knowledge of horse anatomy is displayed as he shows the centaur's equine half straining to keep a footing on a rocky base. As violent as this composition is, its subject was more acceptable to the artistic establishment than the brutality of wild beast.
The group was modeled in 1849 and cast c. 1867.
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