[Carpeaux, Jean-Baptiste. (1827 - 1875)] [AFTER]. [Carpeaux, Jean-Baptiste. (1827 - 1875)] [AFTER] "La Danse," ca. 1875 Impressive sculpture, carved from a single block of hardwood, after the original marble sculptural group by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux for the façade of the Opera Garnier in Paris. Carved inscription to the right base, "LA DANSE / D'après CARPEAUX" and signed "L. Auguste." The work is richly carved on three sides, with a flat back. We have been unable to positively identify the artist, but the work certainly dates to the last quarter of the 19th century or shortly thereafter and is a remarkable period interpretation in an unforgiving other medium of the celebrated original work. 15.5 x 8.25 x 4.5 inches; 39 x 21 x 11.5 cm. Small partial loss to hand holding tambourine, else in very fine condition.

In the 1850s and ‘60s, Paris, which was in many ways still a medieval city, underwent major state-funded renovations to usher in modernization, and The Paris Opera House was one such project. In 1863, Charles Garnier, the architect of the new Paris Opera, commissioned four sculpted groups by four artists who had won the Grand Prix de Rome to decorate the facade of the building. Carpeaux was to cover the theme of dance. Although Carpeaux had trained in the rather rigid atmosphere of the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, his style became more dynamic after he won the Prix de Rome in 1854 and the prize had allowed Carpeaux to live in Rome for the better part of the next decade, exposing him to Italian art of the late Renaissance and baroque periods.

Over a three-year period, he produced a variety of sketches and models before conceiving this turning farandole of women encircling the spirit of dance, depicted as a garlanded young man with wings, smiling as he holds aloft a tambourine. The sculptor's main concern was to convey the feeling of movement, and this he achieved through a dual momentum of circular and vertical motion. The leaping spirit dominates the group, urging on the circle of bacchantes, in unbalanced postures.

When Carpeaux unveiled the enormous multi-figure work that, because of its location, would be seen by all of Paris, t he public was shocked by the realism of the female nudes, which they judged unseemly; indeed, a bottle of ink was thrown against the sculpture and its removal was requested. However, the war of 1870, followed by the death of Carpeaux, put an end to the controversy. T he original statue remained on the façade at the opera until it was transferred to the Louvre Museum in 1964 and replaced by a copy. The original was moved to the Musée d'Orsay in 1986.


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