Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux

Overall the condition of the marble is good with some minor wear and dirt to the patina. The little finger of the right hand is missing.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The Jeune Pêcheur à la Coquille epitomises Carpeaux's style and quickly became a symbol of his art, revised and repeated in many forms. From the sculpture's debut at the 1858 Salon, it was rightly seen as a masterful synthesis of contemporary and Renaissance influences: contemporary in its homage to Carpeaux's master, Franços Rude, whose Jeune Pêcheur à la Tortue was the yardstick by which his work was to be compared (see lot 7) - and Renaissance in its reflection of the influence of Donatello and Michelangelo whose oeuvres Carpeaux studied during his sojourn in Italy, where he was a pensionnaire at the Villa Medici.

After the exhibition of the initial plaster the Jeune Pêcheur was seen again in bronze at the Salon of 1859 and in marble the following year. During the next decade Carpeaux adapted his figure into a bust entitled Le Rieur Napolitain (lot 6) and later made the addition of the swathe of fishing net over the boy's thigh.

RELATED LITERATURE
Romantics to Rodin, pp. 145-6, no.29; Wagner, pp. 149-50; Poletti & Richarme (2003), p. 63