43 JEAN-BAPTISTE
CARPEAUX
French (born in Valenciennes,
active in Paris), 1827-1875
Bust of Jean-Leon Gerdme,
1872-1873
Marble
With socle: 61 cm (24 in.)
Inscribed on the proper left side
below the truncation: Jbfe Carpeaux
88.SA.8
Carpeaux was the leading sculptor in France during the mid-nineteenth century,
and he was the favored portrait sculptor of Napoleon III and his court. Generally,
the style of Carpeaux's portraits reflects the Rococo revival that permeated much of
the period's sculpture. However, Carpeaux's works are also infused with considerable,
often poignant, realism.
The Bust of Jean-Leon Gerdme is a friendship portrait of a fellow artist who, for
political reasons, was forced to seek exile in England. It is arguably one of the most
handsome and engaging sculpted portrait heads of the nineteenth century. Carpeaux
has depicted his colleague in a typologically innovative fashion: the work is truncated
in a jagged manner and placed on a classicizing cartouche, reminiscent of ancient
works. Gerome is shown with sunken eyes and cheeks and windblown hair, elements
that evoke the Romantic image of the artist as an alienated spirit in turmoil. Although
combining references to the Romantics and to classical art, Carpeaux's Bust of Jean-
Leon Gerdme is also forward-looking and very modern in feeling: the unfinished
treatment of the neck resembles the effect of an Impressionist sketch, which focuses
upon particular details and only hastily renders others. PF
EUROPEAN SCULPTURE 119
