Entrée triomphale d'Henri IV à Paris, d'après Rubens

This 1858 copy after Rubens's painting of Henri IV's triumphal entry into Paris was made by Carpeaux during his Prix de Rome years, when such copying exercises formed a mandatory part of the pensionnaire's training. The original Rubens was part of the Henri IV cycle commissioned by Marie de Médicis, depicting the French king's ceremonial entry into the capital. Copying Old Masters was central to French academic training — how young artists absorbed the techniques and compositional structures of tradition before developing their own voice. That Carpeaux chose Rubens is significant: the Flemish master's dynamic figure compositions and physical energy directly influenced his sculptural sensibility. His later 'La Danse' shares Rubens's exuberant, interlocking figural energy. The copy is held at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris.

Oil paint on canvas executed as an academic copy, aiming to reproduce the original's composition, palette, and handling. Carpeaux's sculptural sensibility occasionally asserts itself, giving the figure modeling a more three-dimensional quality than conventional copyist work.