Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux's sketch of an African captive for the fountain by the Paris Observatory

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