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# Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux's sketch of an African captive for the fountain by the Paris Observatory
- URL: https://theparnassian.com/en/pochemu-ia-rodilas-rabynei/
- Published: 2019-08-22T10:50:14.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-02T18:54:54.000Z
- Author: Alexandr Radayev
- Tags: Art, Paris

Why was I born a slave? This heart-rending work by the French sculptor Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, made in 1868-70, was conceived as a sketch for a major commission: the fountain opposite the Observatory in Paris. Four female figures on the fountain personified the four quarters of the world: Europe, Asia, America and Africa. A dark-skinned captive symbolised Africa. In the final version a different sculpture was used, but likewise in chains