Theseus Slaying the Minotaur
Antoine-Louis BARYE
(French, 1795-1875)
Theseus Slaying the Minotaur
Date1843 modelled; 1857 cast
Mediumbronze
Dimensionsobject: 15 7/8 × 19 1/2 in.
ClassificationSCULPTURE
Credit LineSBMA, Museum purchase, Vote for Art Fund
Object number1983.5
Subject(s)
- men
- nudes
- mythology
Collection
- 19th century French
On View
On viewCollections
Label TextThe moment captured is that of the final vanquishing of the terrifying man-monster by the Athenian hero Theseus, who has braved the labyrinth so that the promised seven young men and women would not be sacrificed to the Minotaur, as commanded by King Minos. Barye’s sculpture, despite the violent struggle that it depicts, exudes an almost uncanny calm in accordance with Neoclassical precepts. The two bodies are as if locked in a fearsome dance, with arms and legs echoing each other. Theseus’s expression is oddly tranquil, so confident is he in his purpose. When Barye first exhibited the original cast in the 1843 Salon, it was rejected by the academic judges. He had to wait until the regime change of the short lived Second Republic, for the Salon juries to acknowledge the brilliance of his sculptural idea when it was accepted for exhibition in 1851. Barye is best known as the most celebrated animalier of the Romantic period, even if this subject more clearly resonates with his earlier training under the neoclassical sculptor, François-Joseph Bosio.
