About the original:
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, who came from a modest family, had a difficult start in life. He was accepted by the Ecole des Beaux-Art of Paris in 1844 and joined the workshop of Rude in 1846. After Napoleon III noticed him, commissions flooded in, two outstanding works being The Dance for the façade of the Opera House, and the four parts of the world for the Obsevatoire fountain.
This prodigious technician can be considered as an Impressionist of sculpture. He has the talent to blend gracefulness with power, and the wisdom to avoid passing fashions and anecdotal or superficial details.
In this statue, Carpeaux brings back the languid grace of the Ecole de Fontainebleau which had spread “La Figure Serpentinata” of the Mannerists all over Europe, together with a gentleness that was typical of the 18th century, while remaining in harmony with a fundamentally classical spirit.
