Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (11 May 1827 – 12 October 1875) was a French sculptor and painter during the Second Empire under

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A neph ...

Life

Born in

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a ...

Nord Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televisi ...

, son of a mason, his early studies were under

François Rude François Rude (4 January 1784 – 3 November 1855) was a French sculptor, best known for the ''Departure of the Volunteers'', also known as ''La Marseillaise'' on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. (1835–36). His work often expressed patriotic the ...

. Carpeaux entered the

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centur ...

in 1844 and won the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

in 1854, and moving to Rome to find inspiration, he there studied the works of

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was ins ...

Donatello Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), better known as Donatello ( ), was a Florentine sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Florence, he studied classical sculpture and used this to develop a complete Renaissance st ...

and

Verrocchio Andrea del Verrocchio (, , ; – 1488), born Andrea di Michele di Francesco de' Cioni, was a sculptor, Italian painter and goldsmith who was a master of an important workshop in Florence. He apparently became known as ''Verrocchio'' after the ...

. Staying in Rome from 1854 to 1861, he obtained a taste for movement and spontaneity, which he joined with the great principles of

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

art. Carpeaux sought real life subjects in the streets and broke with the classical tradition. Carpeaux debuted at the

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon ( ...

in 1853 exhibiting ''La Soumission d'Abd-el-Kader al'Empereur'', a

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

in plaster that did not attract much attention. Carpeaux was an admirer of

Napoléon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephe ...

and followed him from city to city during Napoléon's official trip through the north of France. After initially not making any contact with the emperor, he finally succeeded in arranging a face-to-face encounter at

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

where he managed to convince Napoléon to commission a marble statue that was to be carried out by a practitioner, Charles Romain Capellaro. Carpeaux soon grew tired of academicism and became a wanderer on the streets of Rome. He spent free time admiring the

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plast ...

es of

at the

Sistine Chapel The Sistine Chapel (; la, Sacellum Sixtinum; it, Cappella Sistina ) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the pope in Vatican City. Originally known as the ''Cappella Magna'' ('Great Chapel'), the chapel takes its nam ...

. Carpeaux said, "When an artist feels pale and cold, he runs to Michelangelo in order to warm himself, as with the rays of the sun". While a student in Rome, Carpeaux submitted a plaster version of ''Pêcheur napolitain à la coquille'', the ''Neapolitan Fisherboy'', to the

French Academy French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

. He carved the marble version several years later, showing it in the Salon exhibition of 1863. It was purchased for

's empress, Eugénie. The statue of the young smiling boy was very popular, and Carpeaux created a number of reproductions and variations in marble and bronze. There is a copy, for instance, in the Samuel H. Kress Collection in the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of ch ...

in Washington, D.C. Some years later, he carved the ''Girl with a Shell'', a similar study. In 1861, he made a bust of Princess Mathilde, and this later brought him several commissions from

. Then in 1866, he established his own atelier in order to reproduce and make work on a grander scale. In 1866, he was made chevalier of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleo ...

. He employed his brother as the sales manager and made a calculated effort to produce work that would appeal to a larger audience. On 12 October 1875, he died at George Barbu Știrbei's ''

château A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. No ...

'' in Bécon-les-Bruyères, outside

Courbevoie Courbevoie () is a commune located in the Hauts-de-Seine Department of the Île-de-France region of France. It is in the suburbs of the city of Paris, from the center of Paris. The centre of Courbevoie is situated from the city limits of Pa ...

. Among his students were

Jules Dalou Aimé-Jules Dalou (31 December 183815 April 1902) was a 19th-century French sculptor, admired for his perceptiveness, execution, and unpretentious realism. Early life Born in Paris to a working-class family of Huguenot background, he was raised ...

, Jean-Louis Forain and the American sculptor Olin Levi Warner.

Work

* ''Ugolin et ses fils'' ('' Ugolino and His Sons'') (1861;

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

) with versions in other museums including the

Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) ( en, Orsay Museum) is a museum in Paris, France, on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French a ...

, Paris. * '' The Dance'', commissioned for the Opera Garnier in 1869, featuring several nude figures in a wild and boisterous dance, criticized as an offense to common decency * ' (''

Neapolitan Neapolitan means of or pertaining to Naples, a city in Italy; or to: Geography and history * Province of Naples, a province in the Campania region of southern Italy that includes the city * Duchy of Naples, in existence during the Early and Hig ...

Fisherboy'') (

Musée du Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

, Paris) * '' Young girl with a shell'', Valenciennes * Antoine Watteau monument,

* ''

Flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring ( indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. ...

'' and bas-reliefs for the southern facade of the

Pavillon de Flore The Pavillon de Flore, part of the Palais du Louvre in Paris, France, stands at the southwest end of the Louvre, near the Pont Royal. It was originally constructed in 1607–1610, during the reign of Henry IV, as the corner pavilion betw ...

, Palais du Louvre, for architect

Hector Lefuel Hector-Martin Lefuel (14 November 1810 – 31 December 1880) was a French architect, best known for his work on the Palais du Louvre, including Napoleon III's Louvre expansion and the reconstruction of the Pavillon de Flore. Biography He wa ...

, 1865 * The multifigure allegorical group on the top of the City Hall of his home town,

, 1860–1873 * '' Fontaine de l'Observatoire'', also known as the ''Carpeaux Fountain'', south of the

Jardin du Luxembourg The Jardin du Luxembourg (), known in English as the Luxembourg Garden, colloquially referred to as the Jardin du Sénat (Senate Garden), is located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France. Creation of the garden began in 1612 when Marie de' ...

. Partly complete at his death, Carpeaux finished the terrestrial globe with the cardinal points represented by the four figures of Asia (East), Europe (North), America (West) and Africa (South). * '' L'Amour à la folie'', part of a group ''La Danse'' for the facade of the Opera Garnier (1869)

In popular culture

The Carpeaux: a cake made with butter cream and candied chestnuts between two oval macaroons is named in tribute to Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux.Dominique Auzias, Jean-Paul Labourdette, Hauts de France 2018/2019 Petit Futé, Paris, (2018)

Images

File:Valenciennes - Cimetière des Prix de Rome - Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (2).jpg, Bust of Carpeaux Saint Roch Cemetery File:FontaineQuatrePartiesDuMonde04.jpg, ''The Seasons turning the celestial Sphere'' for the Fountain of the Observatory,

File:Carpeaux Negress 01.jpg, '' Why Born Enslaved!'' 1868,

National Museum A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

File:Carpeaux Valenciennes 080810 26 Ville.jpg, Patinated plaster model for ''Valenciennes defending the arts of peace with the arts of war'' File:Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux La Danse.jpg, '' La Danse'' (The Dance), 1868, for the Opera Garnier, heavily criticized as being indecent File:Ugolino and His Sons MET DP247545.jpg, '' Ugolino and His Sons'', 1857–1860. Photographed at the

File:Valenciennes carpeaux jeune fille coquille bis.jpg, ''Young Girl With a Shell'', Valenciennes File:Triomphe de Flore Pavillon de Flore Louvre.jpg, ''Le Triomphe de Flore'' (The Triumph of Flora), 1866. South façade of the

Louvre Palace The Louvre Palace (french: link=no, Palais du Louvre, ), often referred to simply as the Louvre, is an iconic French palace located on the Right Bank of the Seine in Paris, occupying a vast expanse of land between the Tuileries Gardens and t ...

, Paris File:The Neapolitan Fisherboy Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux The National Museum of Western Art Tokyo.jpg, Bronze ''The Neapolitan Fisherboy'', 1861, in Tokyo's

National Museum of Western Art The is the premier public art gallery in Japan specializing in art from the Western tradition. The museum is in the museum and zoo complex in Ueno Park in Taitō, central Tokyo. It received 1,162,345 visitors in 2016. History The NMWA was es ...

References

External links

A page from insecula.com listing more views of Carpeaux's works
(it may be necessary to close an advertising window to view this page)

* ttp://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/59328/rec/1 ''Europe in the age of enlightenment and revolution'' a catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Carpeaux (see index) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carpeaux, Jean-Baptiste 1827 births 1875 deaths People from Valenciennes French architectural sculptors Prix de Rome for sculpture Academic art 19th-century French painters French male painters 19th-century French sculptors French male sculptors 19th-century French male artists