The Passions of Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
Mar 10, 2014 to May 26, 2014
Official Site
The Passions of Jean Baptiste Carpeaux is now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art through May 26, 2014. The exhibit is significant and features many of the artist's marble, terracotta and bronze sculptures, along with a selection of his drawings, paintings, and self portraits.
The son of a mason, he was born in Valenciennes, France in 1827 under the Second Empire of Napoleon III. As a young man he studied in Paris under the sculptor Francois Rude and eventually earned his way into the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. In 1854 he won the Prix de Rome and moved to Italy. While working in Rome he became increasingly influenced by the works of the Renaissance sculptors, especially Michelangelo Buonarroti Simoni, and built a solid reputation as an artist.
The exhibit includes Ugolino And His Sons, the masterpiece Carpeaux is most famously known for today. The work cost him dearly and took many man hours to complete, yet, he never made money on it. When taking a 360 walk around, the eye is drawn into the realism of the piece and no detail seems to be overlooked, but it is said that he never really finished it.
Other works in the exhibit include La Palombella, Hector Imploring The Gods, and Napoleon III. While working in Trastevere, Carpeaux fell in love with a peasant girl named Barbara Pasquarelli. They called her Palombella because doves always landed on her shoulders. Her bust is completed in classical artistic style. Hector Imploring the Gods took Carpeaux three weeks to complete and won him his Prix de Rome that he so arduously sought. And, he sculpted Napoleon III during exile in England with the emperor.
Apart from Ugolino and his Sons Carpeaux’s works are relatively unknown today, yet some say he was the “single most perceptive artist among reviving French 18th century psychological portraiture”. This exhibit mirrors that sentiment and should not be missed.
[Image: Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (French, Valenciennes 1827–1875 Courbevoie) Ugolino and His Sons Saint-Béat marble, H. 77 3/4 x W. 59 x D. 43 1/2 in. (197.5 x 149.9 x 110.5 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Josephine Bay Paul and C. Michael Paul Foundation Inc. Gift, Charles Ulrick and Josephine Bay Foundation Inc. Gift, and Fletcher Fund, 1967]
Author: Andrea Muller
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