Alfred Barye "Le Fils" or Alf Barye was a French sculptor, of the Belle Époque, pupil of his father the artist Antoine-Louis Barye. In cooperation with Émile-Coriolan Guillemin, Barye did the artwork for "The Arab Warrior Knight on Horseback". Included in Barye's oeuvre were animalier bronzes as well as Oriental subjects. At his father's request, he signed his work as "fils" to differentiate his work from his father's.
Early life
Alfred Barye was born in Paris, France, on 21 January 1839, the son of Antoine-Louis Barye. He learned his craft of animalier sculptor under the watchful eye of his father who was one of the original pioneers of animal sculpture in the mid-to-late 19th century. The younger Barye didn't always get along with his father; there were times when the two of them were not on speaking terms because until instructed not to do so, Barye was signing some of his bronzes as "A. Barye" which the senior Barye objected to because it created confusion as to which Barye, father or son, created the sculpture.
Career
He specialized in the animalier school in the production of bronze sculptures. Although a fine artist in his own right, he struggled to create his own identity living in the shadow of his more famous father. The vast majority of his pieces are signed "A. Barye, fils" while some are marked "Barye" or "A. Barye" which created some confusion – intentional or not – with those of his father. The majority of the sculptures leaving the Barye foundry were sand castings rather than lost-wax castings. Alfred typically used mid-brown patinas but would sometimes add green and auburn-colored hues in the patination process. Any Barye bronze – by father or son – will generally have an exquisite patina. Antoine-Louis was particularly finicky with his patinas and would not allow other foundries to apply them, preferring to do it himself for appearance and quality control purposes. Alfred, too, would not let a sculpture leave his workshop without a perfectly applied and visually pleasing patina. Alfred Barye did a production of bronze sculptures and focused his attention on race horses or horses on the move. Some of his well-known bronzes are The Arab Warrior Knight on Horseback.
Death and legacy
Barye died in Paris in 1882. He is known for the precision detail in his bronze sculptures, as shown in the pheasant sculpture. Barye was known for great attention to detail on his bronzes. He produced a number of bird sculptures as well as genre figures. He received "honourable mention" honors in the 1897 Salon for the workAide Fauconnier Indien, Retour de Chasse à la Gazelle. Alfred Barye's final submission at the Salon de Louvre was in 1882.
