Neapolitan Fisher Boy (Primary Title)
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, French, 1827 - 1875 (Artist)
Contemporary Italian subjects were extremely popular in 19th-century Europe, as they offered an opportunity for cultural fantasies concerning urbanism and modernity. In the wake of the Industrial Revolution, France and other countries experienced cultural shifts in which their urban populations grew while their rural populations decreased. With these shifts emerged a growing fascination with “primitive” and rustic cultures, untainted by the concerns of modern life. As the French in particular grew to define themselves as an industrial society, they needed to create a cultural foil or contrast to their modernity. Italian subjects such as that seen in Carpeaux’s Neapolitan Fisher Boy were embraced for this reason. Case in bronze, Carpeaux’s youthful male figure is nude, placing him in a state of nature. As he kneels on one knee, he holds a shell up to his left ear, carefully balancing himself as he listens. He seems unaware of his nudity and captivated by the sensory and sensual experience of listening to the shell. Carpeaux studied at the French Academy in Rome in the 1850s and ‘60s, and claimed to have based this figure on a youth he observed in Naples. Because it captures a spontaneous and dynamic moment of human activity, the post of the youth is typical of Carpeaux’s work because it captures a spontaneous and dynamic moment of human activity.
Signed along proper right side: "B. Carpeaux"
Stamped twice on right side: "Propriete Carpeaux" follwed by winged eagle symbol
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Henry S. Raab
Tributary, Peninsula Fine Arts Center, Newport News, Va., April 25 – June 25, 1989
The Romantic Bronzes, Walter Cecil Rawls Museum and Library, Courtland, Va., November 20 – December 16, 1980; Peninsula Arts Association, Newport News, Va., April 8 – May 11, 1982
Degas, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Va., May 22 – July 9, 1978
State Rose Show, Franklin, Va., October 1962
Albemarle Art Association Exhibition, Charlottesville, Va., June 1961
The Romantic Bronzes, Walter Cecil Rawls Museum and Library, Courtland, Va., November 20 – December 16, 1980; Peninsula Arts Association, Newport News, Va., April 8 – May 11, 1982
Degas, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Va., May 22 – July 9, 1978
State Rose Show, Franklin, Va., October 1962
Albemarle Art Association Exhibition, Charlottesville, Va., June 1961
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC
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