Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827­–1875) was an extraordinarily gifted sculptor—the greatest in 19th-century France before Rodin—and embodied the emotionally charged artistic climate of his era. The passionate Carpeaux comes alive in this handsome new publication. Carpeaux’s wrenching representations of human forms, shown in beautiful color details and illustrations, echo his turbulent personal life, fraught with episodes of violence and fatal illness.

The book covers the entire span of Carpeaux’s career, and includes the masterpiece Ugolino and His Sons, newly discovered drawings, and a number of rarely seen or studied works. Previously unpublished letters between Carpeaux and his family and friends, a wealth of archival material, and the most detailed chronology of the artist’s life ever published make this book the definitive resource on the artist and his creations. 

Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press


Exhibition Schedule:

The Metropolitan Museum of Art
(03/10/14–05/26/14)

Musée d’Orsay, Paris
(06/23/14–09/30/14)


Playing with Fire

by James David Draper and Guilhem Scherf

Published 1 January 2003
European sculptors of the Neoclassical period often modeled their works in clay before producing finished pieces in marble. These terracotta models are often more animated and revealing than the finished marbles and provide extraordinary insights into the creative process. This book offers the first comprehensive overview of Neoclassical terracotta models by European artists, featuring the works of Pajou, Houdon, and Canova, among many others. Leading scholars analyse modeling at every stage, from the brusque preliminary impulse to the highly finished statuette that is a work of art in its own right. They also comment on related issues: the model's role in the statuary of great men and in tomb sculpture; the sculptors' depictions of arcadia and the loves of the gods; the centering of activity in Rome, site of the collections of antiquities; and much more. Some 135 terracotta models are presented and reproduced, and short biographies of the artists are also included.
This book is the catalogue for an exhibition that will be on view at the Musee du Louvre, Paris (September 15, 2003 to January 5, 2004); The Metropolitan Museum of Art (January 26 to April 23, 2004); and the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm (May 6 to August 29, 2004).