Best known as an animal sculptor, Barye also made numerous finished watercolors. This is one of a series that the Havemeyer family bequeathed to the Metropolitan in 1929 and is notable as the first drawing by the artist to enter their collection. Signs of death and decay dominate. The vultures perch on a leafless tree with their distinctive shapes outlined against a sky reddened by the setting sun. At lower right a stripped animal skull and bones testify to a recent meal. These details have been freely painted upon textured paper to create an image both expressive and naturalistic.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Vultures on a Tree
Artist:Antoine-Louis Barye (French, Paris 1795–1875 Paris)
Date:1810–75
Medium:Watercolor on wove paper
Dimensions:Sheet: 10 11/16 x 15 1/8 in. (27.1 x 38.4cm)
Classification:Drawings
Credit Line:H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
Object Number:29.100.596
Signature: bottom, left of center: BARYE
H. O. Havemeyerand Mrs. H.O. Havemeyeruntil 1907; Louisine W. Havemeyer from 1907-1929
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The H. O. Havemeyer Collection," March 10–November 2, 1930.
Paris. Cabinet des dessins, Musée du Louvre. "Dessins français du Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York de David à Picasso," October 25, 1973–January 7, 1974.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Nineteenth Century French Drawings and Prints," June 23–August 23, 1981.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Antoine-Louis Barye: Drawings and Sculpture," May 8–August 19, 1984.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Splendid Legacy: The Havemeyer Collection," March 27–June 20, 1993.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Drawings and Prints: Selections from the Permanent Collection," May 21–August 12, 2001.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Van Gogh, Mondrian, and Munch: Selections from the Department of Drawings and Prints," July 7–October 11, 2022.
Zieseniss G3 Zieseniss G3
The H.O. Havemeyer Collection: Catalogue of Paintings, Prints, Sculpture and Objects of Art. Privately published, New York, 1931, p. 182.
"Watercolors and bronzes of animals at Metropolitan Museum." in Art News. vol. 38, February 24, 1940, p. 11.
Charles Otto Zieseniss Les Aquarelles de Barye, étude critique et catalogue raisonné. Paris, 1954, also cited pp. 27, 43, cat. no. G 3, fig. no. pl. 31, p. 79, ill.
The H.O. Havemeyer Collection. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2nd edition. New York, 1958, cat. no. 60, p. 12.
Jacob Bean 100 European Drawings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: New York Graphic Society, 1964, cat. no. 67, fig. no. 67, ill.
Jacob Bean, Linda Boyer Gillies, Cynthia Lambros, Roseline Bacou, Réunion des Musées Nationaux Dessins français du Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: de David à Picasso 54th Exposition de Cabinet des Dessins Musée du Louvre, 25 octobre 1973–7 janvier 1974. Paris, 1973, cat. no. 1, fig. no. 13, pp. 21, 83, ill.
Christopher Finch Nineteenth-Century Watercolors. Abbeville Press, New York, London, Paris, 1991, fig. no. 193, pp. 147, 148 (il, ill.
Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen, Gary Tinterow Splendid Legacy: The Havemeyer Collection. Exh. cat.: March 27-June 20. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1993, pp. 72, 73 (ill), and note 7; Appendix 41, pp. 296 (ill.),, ill.
The Wild Kingdom of Antoine-Louis Bayre 1795-1875.. Wildenstein & Co., Inc., New York, 1994, p. 124, cat. no. 81, p. 83, ill., ill.
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The Met's collection of drawings and prints—one of the most comprehensive and distinguished of its kind in the world—began with a gift of 670 works from Cornelius Vanderbilt, a Museum trustee, in 1880.
