Jean-Baptiste CARPEAUX (1827-1875) - Lot 58

Jean-Baptiste CARPEAUX (1827-1875) Mater dolorosa, sketch Model created around 1869 Bust in terracotta Signed JBte Carpeaux and stamped Propriété Carpeaux à l'aigle impériale H. 72 cm. (Restorations) Related works : Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, Mater dolorosa, between 1869 and 1870, terracotta, signed, workshop stamp, H. 71.1 x W/ 52.7 x D. 34.8 cm, Valenciennes, Musée des beaux-arts, inv. S.91.83 ; Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, Mater dolorosa, ca. 1869, plaster, H. 77 x W. 55 x D. 35 cm, Paris, Petit Palais, musées des Beaux-Arts de la ville de Paris, inv. PPS1541. Related literature: Michel Poletti, Alain Richarme, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, sculpteur. Catalogue raisonné de l'œuvre édité, Paris, Les Expressions contemporaines, 2003, model listed under n° BU33, p. 135 Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux meets his model, Jacintha, in the gardens of the Trinité. The sculptor, moved by the grief of this mother following the death of her son, took her to his studio to immortalise her expression. Beyond a religious image, the Mater dolorosa, the sculptor is here employing an academic tradition among 19th century sculptors, the exercise of the head of expression. In 1870, the sculptor presented the marble of this model at the Salon. Although the work was published posthumously in marble, the rare terracotta prints were only made during the artist's lifetime.