Art Institute of Chicago

Allegory of Science

Jean Baptiste Carpeaux (French, 1827–1875)LinkedCulture matchlcp-108f9590b7ee

Date: 1865
Medium: Plaster
Culture: France
Department: Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Institution: Art Institute of Chicago
Object ID: 5830

From the Art Institute of Chicago record

In 1863 Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux received a major commission for the pedimental sculpture on the south side of the Pavillon de Flore at the Musée du Louvre, Paris. For this monumental work, he designed three allegorical figures of France seated on an imperial eagle (a reference to the Emperor Napoleon III), flanked by semi-recumbent nude males representing science and agriculture. These plasters demonstrate Carpeaux’s initial conception as it was presented to the commissioning architect; they also reflect his close study of the sculpture of Michelangelo.

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Provenance & credit

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Credit line: Ada Turnbull Hertle Endowment
Provenance: Commissioned by H. Lefuel for the south facade of the Pavillon de Flore, Tuileries Palace, Paris, 1863; models completed 1865 and in Carpeaux’s studio until 1913; sold, the artist’s atelier sale, Galerie Manzi-Joyant, 15 rue de la Ville-l’Évêque, Paris, December 8–9, 1913, lot 106, to Nelson for 2000 francs [according to Gazette de l’Hôtel Drouot]. Consigned to Gallery Hector Brame, Paris, September 1955 [according to letter from Sylvie Brame to Brandon Ruud, November 24, 2004, copy in curatorial file; see also 1955-56 Paris exh. cat.]; sold by Hector Brame and César de Hauke to the Art Institute, 1957.