Barye's life-size version of this sculpture was commissioned in 1847, based on a model from the 1830s. A companion piece to his "Lion Crushing a Serpent" of 1833, "Seated Lion" was placed in the Tuileries Garden in Paris in 1848. There is a life-size replica in Mount Vernon Place.
<p>Noble and strong, the lion traditionally represented royalty in French art. Here as Leo, sign of the zodiac for July/August, it alludes to Louis Philippe who came to the throne following the July Revolution of 1830.
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Barye produced reductions of "Seated Lion" with varying detail: this one has a sterner expression than the monumental prototype. Barye wanted to reach a broad, middle class audience. Casting in bronze permitted large editions of the same piece at affordable prices.
<bdi><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Antoine-Louis_Barye" class="extiw" title="w:en:Antoine-Louis Barye"><span title="French sculptor">Antoine-Louis Barye</span></a>
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First cast: 1847
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