After Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux

Collection of John Gaines, Christies New York.

Since Pourquoi Naître Esclave was exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1869, it has remained one of the most important and popular works of Carpeaux’s oeuvre, with fine examples acquired by various institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen and the Cleveland Museum of Art.  

Due to the popularity of this model, a number of editions in various media were created both by Carpeaux’s atelier and other workshops, such as Maison Susse. The present plaster is believed to be a working model used to produce marble editions, in part due to the three unusual, integrally cast faceted finials, which may have been used for pointing or in some part of the production of the finished sculpture.

RELATED LITERATURE
J. Draper and E. Papet, The Passions of Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2014, p. 162, cat. no. 93.