Summary Of Theseus Fighting The Centaur Bianor

Antoine-Louis Barye, a famous French sculptor, creates a sculpture named Theseus Fighting the Centaur Bianor in 1849. In his sculpture Barye portrays the mythic fight between Theseus, who is considered a hero, and the Centaur Bianor. This fight is described in Book XII of Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The sculpture consists of two full-body characters, one in top of the other one. Barye uses bronze as medium. An important characteristic from this sculpture is that the bronze used is a shiny black. The color and medium used in this artwork provide a better contrast between light and shadow. This effect makes us appreciate the emphasis the sculptor put in each one of the characters’ musculature. Even thought, centaurs are mythic creatures Barye creates a realistic full-body portrait of one combining the upper body of a human and the lower body of a horse. The sculptor creates a soft and realistic muscular texture for his characters and also creates the texture of cloth, rock and what appears to be a small bush. Bianor, the centaur, reflects a facial expression of fear because his life is being threatened. Meanwhile, Theseus displays a calmed facial expression and his body language shows us he is in control of the fight. The ground where they are standing suggests this fight is taking place in a mountain. The most notorious principal of design in this artwork is proportion; Theseus has a normal human body and Bianor’s body is proportionally similar to Theseus’ body. This sculpture has

asymmetrical balance.
When we discuss its cultural background it is worth noting that Antoine-Louis Barye is well known for portraying animals in action.

This sculpture has heavy influences from ancient Greek. Nudity and the emphasis in human musculature is one of the easiest ways to recognize Greek artwork other than its characteristic mythology. Contrapposto is present in both characters, Theseus and Bianor. As mentioned before this piece of artwork is an illustration from the Book XII of Ovid’s

Metamorphoses.
The artwork is relevant to my life because it shows me that as humans we have not changed much through centuries. Even though, the sculpture portraits a fight between two mythical-fictional characters it displays how little we have changed; we still fight wars in order to stablish superiority and we look for excuses to cause them. It is amazing how art has changed since it first appeared and how far we have come. All the techniques created in different mediums. However, the most impressing period where art starts to evolve faster is the Greek and Roman Era. Even thought, Barye creates this artwork in the nineteenth century he is inspired by Greek culture and their humanistic way to create art. Art slowly putting aside gods and replacing them with humans inspire me to see how important we are.
In conclusion, the influences from Greek culture and animals led Barye to create a magnificent sculpture. The explanations and definitions provided in this class helped me to appreciate art in a deeper lever. It is important to mention that every single detail such as the context of the artwork, the references, textures, and principles of art and many other aspects that could be analyzed contribute to create a unique piece of art.