Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux

1827 Valenciennes – 1875 Courbevoie

While Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux’s place in art history may be attributed principally to the outstanding career he enjoyed as the pre-eminent sculptor of the Second French Empire, his paintings – which often appear incomplete and more like oil sketches than finished pictures – and his numerous drawings also document his keen sense of light, colour and movement. The few etchings Delteil recorded were probably made by the artist for his own recreation and are experimental in nature.