Metadata
Title
Charles Garnier
Creator
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux. Foundry mark: E. Gruet Jeune Fondeur
Date
1868 (circa) - 1869 (circa)
Description
Cast bronze portrait bust of Charles Garnier (1825-1898). Sculptural details such as Garnier’s unkempt curly hair and his disheveled clothing are indicative of sculptor Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux’s skill at infusing his works with spontaneity and naturalism.
Architect Charles Garnier won the Paris Opera commission in 1861 over a field of nearly 200 contestants. Garnier and Carpeaux were friends, and Carpeaux executed many sculptural works for Garnier's finest building, the Opera. A version of this portrait bust greets visitors as they climb the grand stair of the Opera, and there is a third casting at the Louvre in Paris. Carpeaux was the most successful French sculptor of the mid-19th Century; he was widely recognized as the official sculptor of the Second French Empire.
Architect Charles Garnier won the Paris Opera commission in 1861 over a field of nearly 200 contestants. Garnier and Carpeaux were friends, and Carpeaux executed many sculptural works for Garnier's finest building, the Opera. A version of this portrait bust greets visitors as they climb the grand stair of the Opera, and there is a third casting at the Louvre in Paris. Carpeaux was the most successful French sculptor of the mid-19th Century; he was widely recognized as the official sculptor of the Second French Empire.
Extent
28.75" H
Medium
Bronze
Provenance
Gift of Samuel J. Dornsife
Collection
General Collection, Museum Collection, The Athenaeum of Philadelphia
Identifier
1999.M04.01
Rights
http://www.philaathenaeum.org/rights.html