Charles VII Victorious c. 1830 - 1840

Curator: Antoine Louis Barye, born in 1795, sculpted this bronze piece titled "Charles VII Victorious", currently residing here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: What strikes me is the stillness, the quiet confidence. It's less about the roar of victory and more about the moment *after* the battle, that contemplative pause. Curator: Indeed. Barye often explored the public image of power. Charles VII, after all, was heavily reliant on figures like Joan of Arc to solidify his rule. Editor: There's something almost theatrical about it, you know? Like a carefully staged tableau. The horse's raised leg, the king's laurel wreath...it’s all very deliberate. Curator: Consider the context, though. France was obsessed with its historical figures, its own national narrative, which had everything to do with the state of the French monarchy at the time. Editor: Mmm, I see your point. Even though it lacks the dynamism of, say, Delacroix, it still captures something about the weight of leadership, the burden of representation. Curator: Right, history immortalized in bronze. Editor: And made slightly less stuffy by the hand of a true artist, in my humble opinion.