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Why Born Enslaved!

modeled 1868, carved 1873
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 548
This bust is perhaps the most well-known nineteenth-century sculpture of an enslaved Black figure. A virtuosic display of artistic achievement, the composition was modeled after an unidentified woman whose features Carpeaux recorded in exquisite detail. Yet this bust is not a portrait. Rather, it depicts the Black figure as an enslaved and racialized "type." Created twenty years after the abolition of slavery in the French colonies (1848), the sculpture was debuted in Paris in 1869 under the title Négresse, a term that reinforces the fallacy of human difference based on skin color. The subject’s resisting pose, defiant expression, and accompanying inscription – "Pourquoi Naître Esclave!" (Why Born Enslaved!) – convey an antislavery message. However, the bust also perpetuates a Western tradition of representation that long saw the Black figure as inseparable from the ropes and chains of enslavement. The present bust is one of only two known versions carved in marble.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Why Born Enslaved!
  • Artist: Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (French, Valenciennes 1827–1875 Courbevoie)
  • Date: modeled 1868, carved 1873
  • Culture: French
  • Medium: Marble
  • Dimensions: 22 7/8 × 16 × 12 1/2 in., 132.7 lb. (58.1 × 40.6 × 31.8 cm, 60.2 kg)
    Pedestal: 22 × 18 in., 1298 lb. (55.9 × 45.7 cm, 588.8 kg)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace, Wrightsman Fellows, and Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation Gifts, 2019
  • Object Number: 2019.220
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Why Born Enslaved!, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux French, Terracotta, French, Auteuil
Why Born Enslaved!
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
modeled 1868, cast 1872
Boy crying, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux French, Cast terracotta, French, Paris
Boy crying
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
1870–72
Model for the Watteau Fountain, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux French, Patinated plaster, French
Model for the Watteau Fountain
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
ca. 1867–68
Study for the Ugolino Group, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux French, Graphite
Study for the Ugolino Group
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
19th century
Bacchante with vine leaves, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux French, Terracotta; marble base, French
Bacchante with vine leaves
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
ca. 1872–75

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