Self-Portrait

ca. 1865
Not on view
Carpeaux was one of the rare sculptors who also excelled as a painter and draftsman, comfortably using a broad range of media to pursue his artistic vision. Here, he uses red, brown, and white chalks to produce a moody and masterfully modelled self-portrait. Carpeaux, like Courbet, was fascinated with his own image, creating at least 14 painted self-portraits and six on paper. This one is among his most haunting. Lit from above, with the artist’s features cast in shadow, it evokes Carpeaux’s psychological complexity, as both a genius and as an individual suffering from various maladies.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Self-Portrait
  • Artist: Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (French, Valenciennes 1827–1875 Courbevoie)
  • Sitter: Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (French, Valenciennes 1827–1875 Courbevoie)
  • Date: ca. 1865
  • Medium: Red and brown chalk, heightened with white on tan paper
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 18 1/4 × 11 7/8 in. (46.4 × 30.2 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation Gift, in honor of James Draper, 2014
  • Object Number: 2014.604
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux - Self-Portrait - The Metropolitan Museum of Art