Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux

Carpeaux used Anna Foucart, the daughter of a Valenciennes lawyer, who also a friend and patron, as a model for La Rieuse Napolitaine. She is dressed in Neapolitan folk costume, with a flat hat traditionally worn in the Sabine mountains by young Neapolitans in the 19th century. The Rieuse is further distinguished by her elaborate hairdo, including the two small chignons on both sides of her face. The girl's fine facial features, together with the finely ruched blouse and the pearl necklace, make for a beautiful ensemble.

Carpeaux presented La Rieuse in marble at the Salon in 1867 and decided to pair it with a male bust, Le Rieur Napolitain, which he derived from his earlier model Le Pecheur à la coquille. The pair became emblematic of Carpeaux's oeuvre, and became his best-known models, with numerous versions being produced in bronze and terracotta. 

RELATED LITERATURE

M. Poletti and A. Richarme, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, sculpteur, catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre édité, Paris, 2003, p. 148, BU 47.