Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse
French, 1824-1887
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Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse was a French sculptor. He was one of the founding members of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, and was made an officer of the Legion of Honour.
Carrier-Belleuse was born on 12 June 1824 at Anizy-le-Château, Aisne, France. He began his training as a goldsmith's apprentice. Carrier-Belleuse was a student of David d'Angers and briefly studied at the École des Beaux-Arts. His career is distinguished by his versatility and his work outside France: in England between 1850 and 1855 (working for Mintons), and in Brussels around 1871. His name is perhaps best known because Auguste Rodin worked as his assistant between 1864 and 1870. The two travelled to Brussels in 1871, and by some accounts Rodin assisted Carrier-Belleuse's architectural sculpture for the Brussels Stock Exchange.
Carrier-Belleuse made many terra cotta pieces, the most famous of which may be The Abduction of Hippodameia depicting the Greek mythological scene of a centaur kidnapping Hippodameia on her wedding day. He was made artistic director at the Manufacture nationale de Sèvres in 1876.
In 1862 Carrier-Belleuse was one of the founding members of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, and was made an officer of the Légion d'honneur. The bronzes he executed prior to 1868 were always signed "Carrier" or "A. Carrier", but after 1868 his signature was changed to "Carrier-Belleuse".
His work encompassed all manner of sculptural subjects and materials, and his naturalism incorporated a breadth of styles: unembellished Realism, neo-Baroque exuberance, and Rococo elegance.
His sons were the painters Louis-Robert Carrier-Belleuse (1848-1913) and Pierre Carrier-Belleuse (1851-1932).
Carrier-Belleuse died on 4 June 1887 at Sèvres, France.
