The Turnip Washer
Évariste Carpentier (Belgian, 1845–1922)
Oil on canvas | 25 x 36.5 in.
Évariste Carpentier, a prominent Belgian artist, was born in Kuurne in 1845. He trained at the Academy of Fine Arts of Courtrai and later at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, where he excelled in painting from life. Carpentier was a key member of the avant-garde art group XX (Les Vingt), which significantly influenced the promotion of Impressionism and Luminism in Belgium. Later, he introduced Impressionism to the city of Liège, where he served as a professor and eventually the Director of the Academy of Liège from 1902 to 1919.
This painting is a preliminary study for a larger work of the same name housed in the Musée d'Art Moderne in Liège. The final version of The Turnip Washer was exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1890, where it earned Carpentier a medal and significant acclaim. A review in Le Patriote praised the piece, describing it as "one of the most robust pieces of the show."
Carpentier's work, celebrated for its naturalistic depiction of rural life and mastery of light, earned him numerous awards throughout his career, including gold medals at major exhibitions in Antwerp, Munich, and Paris. This study exemplifies his ability to combine robust, earthy subject matter with a luminous, painterly technique that foreshadows modern Belgian painting's development.
