Description:
bust of a Chinese man with head turned toward proper right shoulder, long queue down his back and collarless shirt; man

Label Text:
In 1867, Baron Haussmann commissioned Carpeaux to design a fountain for the Observatoire de Paris. It featured four female nudes representing Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Le Chinois is a variant on the figure of Asia. Carpeaux could not find a Chinese woman to model, and instead grafted the modified head of a male sitter onto a female body. The original fountain portrayed the nudes dancing in a ring, reflected in the dynamic, almost sensual movement of the figure’s braid. This representation of a racial type raises questions about the way Asian bodies are intentionally misgendered under a western gaze.

Tags:
men

Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=SC+1970.4

Research on objects in the collections, including provenance, is ongoing and may be incomplete. If you have additional information or would like to learn more about a particular object, please email fc-museums-web@fivecolleges.edu.