Jean-Baptiste CarpeauxFrench, 1827–1875Springtime
May one see it?
Yes, receiving visitors
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Washington, D.C., United States
RoomLuce Foundation Center, 3rd Floor, 20A
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the sculpture
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux created this sculpture personifying the season of spring in 1871, when he was working on small editions and busts in order to make money during the Franco-Prussian War. The figure’s smile and engaging pose create a lighthearted image, as if she is looking back and laughing at the receding cold of winter. Carpeaux carved intricate flowers and leaves into the girl’s hair and dress to evoke the bright new growth of the season.
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Particulars
- Accession number
- 1929.8.395
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Image: Smithsonian American Art Museum — CC0
Meanwhile, in the life of Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
The whole life27 April 1869
Married: Amélie de Montfort
27 – 28 August 1869
An inkwell is thrown at “The Dance”
In the night of 27–28 August 1869 an indignant gentleman hurls an inkwell at the sculpture. It is soon cleaned, but satirical magazines are full of spiteful caricatures, and Prosper Mérimée fumes that savages are dancing the cancan before the Opéra, marvelling that the police do not intervene.
1870
The war saves “The Dance” from replacement
Under public pressure the emperor ordered the sculpture removed and replaced by a more “decent” group commissioned from Charles Gumery; Carpeaux’s work was saved only by the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War.
1870
Defeat in the war cancels all commissions
France’s defeat in the war with Prussia cancels all of Carpeaux’s commissions; for lack of funds he eventually gives up running his own studio.
23 April 1870
Son born: Charles Carpeaux
4 November 1872
Daughter born: Louise Clément-Carpeaux
