Le Chinois (Terracotta)

Le Chinois (Terracotta)
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
BOWMAN SCULPTURE
6 Duke Street St James’s, London SW1Y 6BN
Tel. +44 (0) 207 930 0277
gallery@bowmansculpture.com
www.bowmansculpture.com
Le CHinois
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
(French, 1827–1875)
Signed JB T Carpeaux
Terracotta
Stamped : ‘Atelier-Dépôt à Auteuil, 71 rue Boileau, Paris’
Numbered 1634 with Imperial Eagle Seal of Carpeaux
Height: 13.5 inches
The present bust is a terracotta of Carpeaux’s
Le Chinois in its second, more refined state.
The work was first conceived in 1868 after
Carpeaux received a commission from Baron
Haussmann to create a monumental group
depicting Les Quatre Parties du Monde (Four
Parts of the World) which would adorn Gabriel
Davioud’s fountain at the Observatory in the
Luxembourg Gardens, Paris.
Fontaine des Quatre-Parties-du-Monde, Paris, France
Carpeaux’s first version of Le Chinois was a
preparatory sketch for his depiction of Asia, which would be incorporated alongside figures of
Europe, America and Africa in his group for the Observatory fountain. In this initial version
Carpeaux handles the chest with broad impressionistic marks and pays little attention to the back
of the figure’s head. The loose applications of clay echo the sculptor’s earlier maquette for Ugolino
and his Sons and accentuates the work’s unfinished appearance.
Carpeaux first exhibited his full scale model for Les Quatre Parties du Monde in 1872, with the
final version being installed at the Luuxenbourg gardens in 1874. The reception to the work
at the salon was mixed and Carpeaux was encouraged to make two further reductions of the
models of Asia (Le Chinois) and Africa - which was to became Pourquoi Naître Esclave (Why Born
a Slave?).
In the present version of Le Chinois, which was conceived in
1872 and first exhibited in Brussels in 1874, Carpeaux deftly
captures the models defiant stare through his delicate modeling
and exceptional attention to detail around the mouth, nose and
eyes. The sculptor also substitutes the rough costume seen in the
original sketch (first state) for a side fastening tunic rendered in
fine detail and adds a long braid which flows from the back of
the model’s head round to the side of the bust.
Jean Baptiste Carpeaux, Le Chinois, Bronze,
Height 68 cm, Private Collection France
The plaster original is in the collection of the Petit Palais, Paris and a smaller plaster of the work
(around 35 cm) which was sold in Carpeaux’s second atelier sale in 1913 is now in the collection
of the Cleveland Museum, USA.
Jean Baptiste Carpeaux, Le Chinois, Plaster
Collection of the Petit Palais, Paris.
Jean Baptiste Carpeaux, Le Chinois
(First State), Terracotta.
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, Pourquoi Naître Esclave,
Patinated plaster with red stone base,
Collection of the Brooklyn Museum, USA
BOWMAN SCULPTURE
6 Duke Street St James’s, London SW1Y 6BN
Tel. +44 (0) 207 930 0277
gallery@bowmansculpture.com
www.bowmansculpture.com