A FRENCH TERRACOTTA FIGURE: LE GÉNIE DE LA DANSE
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (French, 1827-1875), 19th century
Signed and dated JB. Carpeaux. 1874., on a faux marble base.
height of figure 40in (101.5cm); height of pedestal 33in (84cm); width 17 1/2in (44.5cm) square
Footnotes:
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827–1875) was a French sculptor and painter during the Second Empire under Napoleon III. Between 1854 and 1861, the sculptor lived in Rome, studying the works of Michelangelo, Donatello, and Verrocchio. Developing a taste for Renaissance and Baroque movement, Carpeaux grew tired of academism and pursued real subjects in the streets of Rome. Debuts at the Salon and a bust of Princess Mathilde garnered the attention of Paris and Napoleon III himself, bringing Carpeaux grand commissions and allowing him to open his own atelier in 1866. Here, Carpeaux could produce work on a greater scale while his brother, Emile, managed the business side.

Translated as 'the Genius of Dance', Le Génie de la Danse's original design was a part of the larger sculptural group, La Danse, for the Opéra Garnier, commissioned by the building's architect Charles Garnier. Carpeaux's figural group is one of nine decorating the building, alongside works by sculptors such as François Jouffroy and Jean-Joseph Perraud. Carpeaux's group sits at the base of the third from left avant-corps.

La Danse is based on the dance of Bacchus and comprises an allegorical figure of dance encircled by five dancing nymphs. The composition took Carpeaux three years to make, using actresses and dancers from the Palais-Royale as models. Carpeaux's time in Rome and study of Renaissance artists inspired his taste for movement and spontaneity, giving the dancing group a certain careless jubilance and pleasure -- divergent from the classical ballet performed inside the theater. The tipsy smiles and consciously naked dancers were a far cry from contemporaneous idealized Neoclassical sculptures.

At the Opera's unveiling in July 1869, Carpeaux's work was widely criticized for these unabashedly naked bodies. The normalcy of their bodies and unrestrained honesty and intimacy of the figures caused an uproar amongst Parisians of this time. Controversy over whether respectable ladies could even pass this public sculpture was discussed and in August of the same year, an anonymous vandal hurled black ink at the piece. The sculpture's scandal was soon forgotten after the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in July 1870 and Carpeaux's death in 1875.

To increase profits, Emile convinced his brother to produce separate editions of fragments of his larger figural groups -- a trick also used by Rodin. Le Génie de la Danse's was therefore created as a stand-alone work for sale to subsidize the cost of La Danse. The original sculptural group is a complex composition -- the genie and putto are the central figure around which the dancers parade. Le Génie is one of the most successful of the independent figural groups. His dynamic stance and whirlwind of fabric and hair create a stunning visual, even without the surrounding dancers.

Provenance
Didier Aaron & Cie., London, 09 February 1981.

Literature
Poletti and A. Richarme, M. Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux sculpteur: Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre édité. Paris, 2003, pp. 56-59, no. SA 4.
Rheims, Maurice. LA sculpture au XIXème Siècle. Arts et Métiers Graphiques, Paris, 1972, pg. 102.