ARTWORKS

Theseus Combating the Centaur Biénor

Antoine-Louis Barye (1796–1875)

The Barber Institute of Fine Arts

Theseus Combating the Centaur Biénor

Image credit: The Henry Barber Trust, The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham

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The mythical hero Theseus clubs to death Biénor, one of the centaurs who had tried to carry off the brides at the wedding of the King of the Lapiths. The subject is from the classical Roman poet Ovid’s Metamorphoses (XII: 344–9), and gave Barye the opportunity to demonstrate his ability to sculpt animals. This is one of his finest compositions in a more traditional classical vein. It was cast from the model for a larger version, commissioned by the French Ministry of the Interior in 1849.

The Barber Institute of Fine Arts

Birmingham

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Title

Theseus Combating the Centaur Biénor

Date

modelled c.1846–1848 & cast late 19th C

Medium

bronze

Measurements

H 34.3 x W 37.7 x D 9 cm;
Plinth: H 4 x W 39.3 x D 14 cm

Accession number

46.2

Acquisition method

purchased from G. Mayer, 1946

Work type

Statue

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The Barber Institute of Fine Arts

University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, West Midlands B15 2TS England

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Artist or maker

Antoine-Louis Barye

1796–1875

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