Antoine Barye (1796-1875),
Lion, no date, plaster, 12 x 7 1/8 x 5 3/8 inches. Brigham Young University Museum of Art, gift of Joseph V. Desantis, 1989. French sculptor Antoine Barye was born on this day in 1796. He is still most famous for his sculptures of animals. He practiced sketching the animals he saw in the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, and then began making casts based on his sketches.