Bear on a Tree, Eating an Owl c. 1865

Curator: Antoine Louis Barye, a 19th-century French sculptor, created this bronze piece, "Bear on a Tree, Eating an Owl." The work is currently housed at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It's a striking piece. The texture is so raw, and the bear's posture—a mix of triumph and savagery—is somewhat unsettling. Curator: Barye often depicted animals in dramatic ways, reflecting a Romantic sensibility that valued raw emotion and the power of nature. Consider how these depictions were received by urban audiences increasingly distanced from such encounters. Editor: Yes, I find myself thinking about the politics embedded in this depiction of predator and prey. What does it say about power dynamics, especially in relation to the era’s social hierarchies? Curator: Absolutely, and it's worth considering how Barye's work, while celebrated, could also be seen as reinforcing certain colonialist narratives about the natural world. Editor: It truly offers a complex lens through which to view our own relationship with the natural world and our perceptions of dominance.