Jean-baptiste Carpeaux (1827-1875) - "the Laugher In Parma"

Imposing and rare buste in bronze Bronze with double patina, nuanced brown and gilded Rests on a wooden base decorated with vine leaves and grapes The laughing child is wearing a vine leaves and grapes headdress. Signed on the bronze base (signature hidden by the wooden base) Dimensions: Height: 61 cm – Width: 37 cm Depth: 34 cm Bibliography: “Le Rieur aux Pampres” is an adaptation of the model of the “Rieur Napolitain” (dating from 1873) intended to serve as a counterpart to the “Rieuse aux Roses”. Model referenced under the number BU 42 in the work of MM Poletti and Richarme, published by L'Amateur, page 144. Biography: Jean-Baptiste CARPEAUX (1827-1875) Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux was born in Valenciennes on May 11, 1827 into a modest family of workers. He loved drawing and sculpture and, against his father's wishes, he entered the Académie de la ville and took René Fache's sculpture classes. Then, in 1838, the Carpeaux family moved to Paris and he entered the Petite École and received training in drawing and modeling. In 1844, he entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in the studio of François Rude. Ten years later in 1854, he won the Grand Prix de Rome. He returned to the Italian capital a year later, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux having to complete several commissions. He moved to the Villa Medici in January 1856 and studied the great masters: Raphael, Michelangelo. He proved very undisciplined and quickly came into conflict with the director of the Villa Medici, Jean-Victor Schnetz. He roamed the streets, drew tirelessly and sculpted in particular the bust of a young Italian woman: "La Palombella" which was a great success. During his stay in Italy, he sculpted three consignments: "Le Petit Boudeur", "Le Pêcheur à la coquille" and "Ugolin surrounded by his four children" a work of graduation. Back in Paris in 1862, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux's fame grew and commissions poured in. He was introduced to the Imperial Court by his friend and patron, Eugène d'Halwin de Piennes, soon to be chamberlain to the Empress. He became the official sculptor of Napoleon III and was responsible for the artistic education of the Prince Imperial. In 1869 he married Amélie de Montfort who gave him three children. He was also commissioned by Charles Garnier, the architect of the new Paris Opera, to decorate the façade of the building according to the theme of dance. He created "La Danse", a monumental work representing a whirling farandole of women who encircle the genius of dance, he manages through this sculpture to reproduce the sensation of movement and the sensuality of dance. His sculptures of the time are unpublished and initiate a realistic and modern art. Following this creation, the artist will begin to work with clay and produce numerous sketches. Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux is then one of the most important sculptors of his time and gradually becomes a renowned painter. This universal artist will mainly seek to reproduce movement in his works. In 1875, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux died after atrocious suffering due to bladder cancer, leaving behind a prolific body of work that testifies to his talent and his influence on the art of his time. Very attached to his hometown, he bequeathed part of his works to the Museum of Fine Arts in Valenciennes. Galerie Paris Manaus