Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
dal 23/6/2014 al 27/9/2014
Segnalato da
23/6/2014
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
Musee d'Orsay, Paris
A sculptor for the Empire. This exhibition is the first retrospective devoted to his works as a sculptor, painter and illustrator and explores the work of a major figure in French sculpture in the second half of the 19th century who, according to one of his models, Alexandre Dumas, was 'more alive than life itself'.
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, one of the most perfect embodiments of the Romantic idea of the
artist cursed by the brevity and brilliance of his career, concentrated into around fifteen years,
built an exceptional career closely linked to Napoleon III’s reign.
This exhibition is the first retrospective devoted to his works as a sculptor, painter and
illustrator since the exhibition at the Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais in 1975, and will
explore the work of a major figure in French sculpture in the second half of the 19th century
who, according to one of his models, Alexandre Dumas, was “more alive than life itself”.
The chrono-thematic exhibition, comprised of 85 sculptures, twenty or so paintings and some
sixty drawings, is organised into ten sections enabling a better understanding of how this
troubled talent continuously alternated between vital energy and tragic and anguished
inspiration. Emphasis will be placed on the major groups produced by Carpeaux, organised
into files bringing together all of the stages of the creation of the work: Pêcheur à la coquille
[Fisherboy with a Shell], Ugolin [Ugolino], the Prince impérial [Prince Imperial], La Danse [The
Dance], the Fontaine de l’Observatoire [Fountain of the Observatory]. The works testify to the
"Fête Impériale”, sketches, paintings of balls at the court, ambitious and elegant portraits and
will contrast with the dark and tortured side of Carpeaux's personal inspiration.
Displayed at the Musée d'Orsay alongside large original models, the virtuoso sketches in
terracotta or plaster lead visitors along the arduous path between the feverish conception of an
idea and the final production, following in the footsteps of one of the greatest French sculptors
of the 19th century.
Curator: Edouard Papet, chief curator, Musée d'Orsay
Previous stage: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 4 February to 26 May 2014
Media partners: France Culture, Le Figaro
Publication
Exhibition catalogue, joint publication Musée d'Orsay / Gallimard, 360 pages, 350 ill., 20.8 x 24 cm,
€49
Image: Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827-1875), Fisherman With Shell, 1861-1862MarbleH. 92; W. 42; D. 47 cm. Washington, D.C., The National Gallery of ArtSamuel H. Kress Collection, inv. 1943.4.89 © Image courtesy of the National Gallery of Art, Washington
Communications Dept: Amélie Hardivillier, head of department
Press Contacts: Marie Dussaussoy: +33 (0)1 40 49 49 96 – marie.dussaussoy@musee-orsay.fr
Coralie David: +33 (0)1 40 49 49 20 – coralie.david@musee-orsay.fr or presse@musee-orsay.fr
Guided tours
In July, Thursday and Friday at 2.30pm
From 9 to 20 September, Thursday at 7pm, Friday and Saturday at 2pm
Tours in sign language
Saturday 5 July and 6 September at 2pm
Museo d'Orsay
1 Rue de la Légion d'Honneur - 75007 Paris
Open daily, except Mondays, 9.30am – 6pm, Thursdays until 9.45pm
Museum entrance ticket: full rate €11; concessions: €8.50