Artist
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux(French, 1827–1875)French, 1827–1875
CultureFrench
Titles
- Pourquoi Naître Esclave? (Why Should I be Born a Slave?)
Datec. 1873–1874, modeled 1867
MediumBronze
Dimensions25 1/4 × 20 × 14 in. (64.1 × 50.8 × 35.6 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Brown Foundations Accessions Endowment
Object number2024.67
Current Location
The Audrey Jones Beck Building
220 McNair Gallery
On view
Explore Further
Department
Arts of Europe and the MediterraneanObject Type
The sculpture was modeled in 1867 and this bronze was made very soon after. The cast is larger than the other known casts and therefore is likely the first of the many bronze versions.
Provenance[Sotheby’s, London, May 12,1995, lot 74]; Private collection, London, 1995–2024; [Stuart Lochhead Ltd., London]; purchased by MFAH, 2024.
Exhibition HistoryUnknown
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Hand-chased inscription on the front of the base: POURQUOI NAITRE ESCLAVE
[none]
Stamped above the inscription on the front of the base: Proprieté Carpeaux / Eagle stamp
Catalogue raisonnéPoletti, Michel and Alain Richarme, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, sculpteur. Catalogue raisonné de l’œuvre édité. Paris : L’Editions de l’Amateur, 2003, 141-2, BU38, BU39.
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
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Jean-Léon Gérôme
c. 1902
Gilt bronze mounted on worked granite
2005.1066
