Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux was a French sculptor born in Valenciennes. Watteau is another famous French
artist born in the same town.
The Watteau monument is located in Valenciennes, square
Saint-Géry (Nord - France). Many preparatory works are in the Fine Arts Museum in Valenciennes, where I took many pictures.
In 1860, Carpeaux
sent a letter to the mayor of Valencienne offering to contribute the monument
at cost. In July of the same year, Carpeaux presented a study of the
project. Carpeaux worked on a new version of the monument in 1867.
In 1868, the artist decided that he would carve the statue
of Watteau in marble and use stone for the four secondary figures.
By 1870, he has completed a full scale model of the main
statue. But the cost estimate in 1874 for the monument is 27 000 French Francs.
Carpeaux died on 12 October 1875,
before the monument was started.
In 1879, it is decided to cast the main figure of Watteau in
Bronze, based on Carpeaux’s full size model. The French State pays for the
material. Another sculptor, Hiolle, is commissioned to create the four secondary
figures and Emile Dusart was the architect on the project.
In 1881, the French government accepted to contribute to two
third of the cost.
The monument was inaugurated on 12 October 1884, anniversary
of Carpeaux’s death.
Related resources
- Source for the historical details: e-Monumen
- Valenciennes Fine Art Museum: Musée des Beaux-Arts de Valenciennes
Boulevard Watteau - 59300 Valenciennes.
1 comment:
you can discover the new line of exclusive objets in trubute to Jean Baptiste Carpeaux at the Opera Garnier de Paris or in this website:
www.geniedeladanse.com
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