A lioness in a landscape

Although he received fame in his own lifetime for his animalier bronzes, the appearance at his studio sale of over 90 small oil paintings - of which the present lot is an example - revealed a different side to Barye's art, in which he absorbed a wide variety of influences from his contemporaries. Strongest among these were the works of the Barbizon School and the big cat paintings of Euène Delacroix, which here unusually combine to portray a lioness in a landscape clearly inspired by the Forest of Fontainebleau. The methodical treatment of the rocks and trees, and the reddish-brown palette are also executed in a style that recalls the smaller paintings of the leading Barbizon painter, Théodore Rousseau.