The Four Parts of the World Holding the Celestial Sphere

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This sculpture is a plaster of the bronze fountain commissioned from Baron Haussmann to Carpeaux in 1867, the original is now placed at the Observatoire Garden. The theme, as the title says, is the four parts of the world represented by four female figures revolving around the earth. The whole sculpture transfers a great sense of movement typical of Carpeaux art: the women move revolving around the celestial sphere and also on the spot, each one of them takes a different position. The sculptures have also been built into separate works. The artist used the African figure in another sculpture condemning slavery with the inscription “Why be born a slave?”.