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

The present lot is a cast of the sketch model (dating from 1846-8) for the final half-life-size version of Thésée combattant le centaure Biénor, conceived in 1849 and exhibited at the Salon the following year. The esquisse was first offered in Barye's 1857-8 catalogue and was edited by Barbedienne after Barye's death, although in far fewer numbers than the Salon version.