CARPEAUX, Jean-Baptiste (1827 Valenciennes – 1875 Courbevoie near Paris)

Large bust of a young African woman—bust titled “Pourquoi naître esclave No. 1”

Patinated bronze. Signed "J.B. Carpeaux," no foundry mark, casting cannot be dated, titled "Pourquoi naître esclave." H 60 cm. 39 kg.

Bust of a young slave woman with short, expressively flowing hair, her body bound by ropes and shackles. The bust was created as part of a series of preliminary studies for the figure of “Africa” on the Fontaine des Quatre-Parties-du-Monde in Paris. Signs of age and wear.

Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux: French sculptor, painter, and etcher; in 1846 he entered the Académie des Beaux-Arts and became a student of Francisque Joseph Duret; in 1854 he was awarded the Prix de Rome at an exhibition of the Académie Française.
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Provenance: Peter Kaus Museum Estate.

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