Antoine-Louis BaryeFrench, 1796–1875Sketchbook
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “Sketchbook” now? Collection: Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.
Minneapolis, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the work
Sketchbooks can offer an extraordinary snapshot of an artist’s mind at a given time. They preserve fleeting ideas, casual observations, private rehearsals, and lingering fixations. All can be found in a sketchbook in the museum’s collection by the French artist Antoine-Louis Barye, famous for his animal sculptures. Mixed in among the drawings in this pocket-sized compendium, which accompanied Barye on his daily activities in the 1850s, are the names of friends and hotels, lists of expenses, copies of works in the Louvre, the address of a lawyer, even a lengthy brasserie tab from 1854.
Read on
As expected, most of the sketches document Barye’s fascination with animals, especially tigers and elephants. Most were drawn from life during visits to the menagerie at the Jardin des Plantes, where Barye reportedly spent hours studying animals, alongside Eugène Delacroix. These artists drew the animals not only in their cages but also during dissection after their demise.
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Details
- Accession number
- 70.27
In the catalog
Sources
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
- Image: Minneapolis Institute of Art — public domain
