Napoleon III

I went to see the Carpeaux exhibit at the Met museum the other day and I have to admit, it is one of the best I've seen at the Met in a while. They have a lot of terra cotta studies, ink sketches, charcoal sketches and of course marble sculptures. One of my favorite sculptures was a bust of Napoleon III sculpted in 1873, while both Carpeaux and Napoleon III were exiled in England. The curators did a great job of organizing his works from early to late work, as well as adding a better understanding of Carpeaux's personal history. There are a few copies and preliminary sculptures of the famous "Genius of the dance" from Carpeaux's sculptural group for the facade of the Garnier Opera in Paris. The exhibition also highlights Carpeaux's work for Napoleon III and his family.
I did a few drawings that day, but I wanted to post this drawing of the Napoleon III bust. Perhaps I'll post some of the other sketches I did in a different post.


-R