The group entitled Thésée combattant le Minotaur, described by the art critic Ballu as being "une des oeuvres maîtresses de Barye, et très réelement un des chefs-d'oeuvre de la statuaire française", was executed by Barye in 1846. With the severe, classicising stance of Theseus and the dramatically contorted pose of the Minotaur, it successfully combines the often disparate influences of classicism and romanticism in Barye's early career.