Seated Lion

Antoine-Louis Barye, French, born Paris, France 1796-died Paris, France 1875 · ca. 1830s

Seated Lion is a sketch model of a statue for the Tuileries gardens in Paris. Antoine-Louis Barye had extremely high standards and usually cast, chiseled, and patinated all of his own pieces. The government decided to sand-cast the full-size Lion assis, however, because this was a cheaper method. The sculpture was later moved to the Louvre, and a mechanically reversed reproduction was made so that the two lions could flank the museum’s entrance.