拍品 27
27
A French bronze group entitled 'Thesee combattant le Minotaure, seconde version' (Theseus slaying the Minotaur, second version)
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A French bronze group entitled 'Thesee combattant le Minotaure, seconde version' (Theseus slaying the Minotaur, second version)

CAST BY FERDINAND BARBEDIENNE FROM A MODEL BY ANTOINE-LOUIS BARYE, LATE 19TH/EARLY 20TH CENTURY

細節
A French bronze group entitled 'Thesee combattant le Minotaure, seconde version' (Theseus slaying the Minotaur, second version)
Cast by Ferdinand Barbedienne from a model by Antoine-Louis Barye, Late 19th/Early 20th Century
The naturalistic base signed BARYE, inscribed F. BARBEDIENNE. FONDEUR and with dedication to the side À KIRCHHOFFER, LES FLEURETS FRANÇAIS/EN SOUVENIR DE SON TRIOMPHE SUR L'ÉPÉE, 11 MAI 1901, the gilt underside with black ink numbers
17 7/8 in. (45.5 cm.) high
出版
Poletti & Richarme, 2000, no. F31 (première version), pp. 106-7, F32 (seconde version), p. 108
注意事項
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium, which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

拍品專文

In his 1890 biography, Roger Ballu pronounces Thésée combattant le Minotaure, the earlier of Barye's two mythological works, as: "[...]une des oeuvres maîtresses du génie de Barye, et très réellement un des chefs-d'oeuvres de la statuaire française" (Ballu, 1890, p. 116). The ancient Greek myth tells how the young hero journeyed to the island of Crete, where, in the labyrinth, he slayed the half-man-half-bull beast, thereby saving the seven youths and seven virgins of Athens, its intended sacrificial victims.
Two basic variants of Thésée combattant le Minotaure exist, modifications to the base being the principal difference between the première version (see Poletti & Richarme, 2000, no. F31, p. 106) and this, the seconde. The modified second version first appears in Barye's 1857-8 catalogue. The modèle (see Christie's New York, 25 April 2003, lot 150) was acquired at the 1876 Atelier sale by Goupil and was subsequently edited with enduring success by Barbedienne.