164. Groupe équestre en bronze représentant le duc Ferdinand Philippe d'Orléans Antoine-Louis Barye (1795 – 1875) Chef modèle, vers 1844-45 A bronze equestrian group representing the Duke Ferdinand-Philippe d'Orléans (1810-1842) Antoine-Louis Barye (1795 - 1875) Head model, circa 1844-45 Keyed model Resting on a rectangular bronze base, signed BARYE; and engraved with the number N°683 on the reverse of the base; with a paper label 20 ? and a blue painted number 20817 ?; on a green marble base (one screw missing from the neck). H.36 x l.32 x L.12 cm. (sans la base en marbre) Literature M. Poletti & A. Richarme, Barye: Catalogue Raisonnée des Sculptures, Paris, 2000, p. 65, no. F 3. Provenance Vente Barye 1876, n° 683 (acquis par Goupil pour être édité par F. Barbedienne). Exposition Barye, 1889, n° 35. Barbedienne Collection. Vente collection Jacques Zoubaloff, 16-17 juin 1927, Galerie Georges Petit, maître F. Lair Dubreuil, lot 182. Private Collection, France. Our bronze has been preserved by a French amateur and collector since the 1920s-30s. This equestrian model is of major importance in Barye's work, as it is the master model and, ultimately, the only one produced during the artist's lifetime. It was exhibited at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris as part of the tribute to Barye in 1875 (no. 152), and was included in his after-death sale in 1876 (no. 683). Purchased 400 francs by Goupil for publication by F. Barbedienne. In 1889, a Barye retrospective was held at the Exposition Universelle, where the public could also admire it (no. 35). Our bronze is listed in Barye's catalog raisonné as 'current location unknown' (loc. cit). Its reappearance on the art market is a major event for collectors, institutions and experts. Ferdinand-Philippe d'Orléans (1810-1842), aesthete and liberal prince, eldest son of King Louis-Philippe, died at the age of 33 in a carriage accident in Neuilly on July 13, 1842. The young Duc d'Orléans was one of Barye's greatest admirers and patrons. His main commission was the spectacular surtout de table, featuring five hunting combats and four animal combats. This commission established Barye as the Romantic sculptor of his generation. Our bronze depicting the Duke in majestic form, seated on a powerful horse, is a posthumous tribute by the sculptor to his patron and forms a counterpart to Le Général Bonaparte. Queen Amélie owned a model, which she placed opposite her desk in the Tuileries Palace, circa 1845-1848. The price of the two sculptures varied according to the regime: under the July monarchy, Le Duc d'Orléans was twice as expensive as Le Général Bonaparte, proof of the sculptor's preference for the royal family? During the Second Empire, Barye offered both statues at the same price.