Paul J. Bosco
Coins and Medals
149 Madison Ave.
New York, NY 10016
(212) 758-2646
Selected Beaux-Arts Plaques and Medals
The cole des Beaux-Arts in Paris was the center of the great renaissance of medallic art in the later nineteenth century under the leadership of its professor Oscar Roty, perhaps the greatest medalist of the modern age. Many of the masters of the medium received their training there, including the Americans Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Victor David Brenner.
We have hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Beaux-Arts medals, which are also known as Art Nouveau medals, in our stock. Some are illustrated on the pages of art medals, French art medals, and medals from the Terranova Collection. Larger ones are illustrated on the page of plaques by medallic artists.. Other works by these (and additional) medalists can be found in the Personal Medals department, in the Topical Medals department, or the Historical Medals department of our store.
On this page we are illustrating some Beaux-Arts plaques and still more Beaux-Arts medals for sale, concentrating on those of a few key artists.
BEAUX-ARTS PLAQUES
The medallists of the Beaux-Arts school, in co-operation with the Paris Mint, brought to perfection the technology of die engraving via the application of a reducing machine to a large-size model. The plaques from the period represent the artwork as modeled by the sculptor, before it was mechanically reduced in size and engraved into the die. For other examples of plaques, from the hundreds in our stock, see our Plaques page.
Jean-Baptiste Daniel Dupuis: Jules Robert, famed banknote engraver, 1898, uniface bronzed galvano, hanger on back, 170 mm., $795. SOLD
Jean-Baptiste Daniel Dupuis: Dpartement de la Seine, 100 mm gilt on velvet plaque, 165 x 165 mm, $350
Ren Grgoire [attributed to]: La Peinture, cast bronze, 235 mm; La Sculpture, cast bronze, 235 mm, $900 each; $1,500 the pair
Jean Dsir Ringel dIlzach: Eugne Guillaume, sculptor, 1884, cast bronze with suspension ring, 175 mm, $695
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BEAUX-ARTS MEDALS
Louis Oscar Roty, 1846-1911
To coin collectors, and members of the general public of a certain age, Rotys most familiar work is the image of the sower (la semeuse), which graced the French one-franc coin for a century beginning in 1897, and survives in an altered form on several French euro coin denominations. In the medallic world he is known for his own medals and plaques, for such innovations and the use of rectangular format and multiple scenes, as well as the presentation of the modern world in a classic guise, but perhaps most importantly for his influence on other artists, especially those he trained at the cole des Beaux-Arts from 1864 until his death.
1882. Paul Durrieu
Cast bronze, uniface, 99 x 137 mm. SOLD
1882. Lon Gambetta
Silver, 68 mm, VF+, $295
1886. Michel Eugne Chevreul
Produced for a subscription to celebrate the hundredth birthday of a renowned chemist, this is considered by many to be the most expressive portrait medal of the Beaux-Arts period. We are proud to be able to offer it as a large cast medal as well as in the issued silver and bronze struck version.
Cast bronze, 100 mm.
Struck silver, 68 mm., ex Tony Terranova, $550.
Struck bronze, 68 mm., ex Geraldine Dodge-Rockefeller, $295.
1888. Sir John Pope-Hennessy
Bronze, 69 mm, EF, $495
The Governor of the French island department of Mauritius was the grandfather of the author of the catalogue of the Dreyfus/Kress Collection of Renaissance Medals at the National Gallery in Washington, DC
1892. Christofle Company, 50th anniversary
Silver, 95x59 mm, in a velvet frame 152x121 mm, VF, $550; also the central panel as a separate plaque, silver, 29x41 mm, $200
1893. Chamber of Commerce of Saint Nazaire
Silver, 41 x 41 mm, EF, slightest mottling on reverse, $225
1895. International Penitentiary Congress
Silver, 50 mm, about EF, $149
Note fine view on reverse of the Pont Neuf, Paris
1898. French School of Athens
Struck silver, 60 mm., $1,150.
1901. Gare de Lyon
Silver, 49 x 44 mm, EF, $225; another: toning spot on the reverse field, $199
Given to shareholders of the Paris-Lyon-Mediterranean railroad line
Jean-Baptiste Daniel Dupuis, 1849-1899
1880, Chambre des Dputs
Struck bronze, 70 mm., $165.
LUnion Insurance Company, sculpted by Daniel Dupuis, engraved by Charles Marey
Silver, 78 x 59 mm., engraved to Lopez de Noyer, 1922, $525.
mile-Sraphin Vernier, 1852–1927
Mission Franaise aux tats-Unis, 1919
Bronze, 50 x 79 mm., in original case of issue, ex Maison Franaise, engraved to McDougall Hawkes, founder and first president of the French Institute of the United States, chairman of the board of Entente France-America, Commander of the Lgion dHonneur, $125.
Louis Botte, 1852-1941
Best known to American collectors for his depiction of a resurgent San Francisco in his medals and plaquettes following the 1909 earthquake, Botte was one of the most accomplished of French medallists of the Beaux-Arts school.
1894, la Science
Struck bronze, 50 mm., about EF, $49.
La France au Progrs
struck bronze, 50 mm., about EF, $65.
Alexandre Charpentier, 1856-1909
While Roty worked in, and taught, a mainly painterly approach to the art of the medal, his contemporary Charpentier was much more sculptural, and participated in the Art Nouveau movement with works in ceramics and furniture, as well as his highly regarded and sought-after plaques and medals.
1896, Ernest Besnier, Hpital Saint Louis, Paris
Silvered bronze, 59 x 43 mm, VF-EF/F-VF $120.
1899, La Peinture
Bronze, 40 x 52 mm, EF, $135.
Georges Dupr, 1869-1909
A descendent of Augustin Dupr, who engraved the Libertas Americana medal and other important early American pieces, Georges Dupr was one of Rotys most promising students, but died at age 39 before he was able to produce a substantial body of work; his medals are therefore scarce and highly sought-after.
1900, Ren Fouret and Catherine Brton
Silvered copper electrotype, backed with lead, 72 x 79 mm, EF, $550.
Fouret was an associate of the Hachette publishing company.
1901, Rdemption
Silver, 45 mm, EF, some varnish upper right reverse, $110; bronze, 72 mm, $95.
Mditation, 1902
Bronze, 49 x 62 mm, overall VF, $90.
Tir scolaire
Silver lapel pin, 20 x 39 mm, EF, $75.
Victor Peter, 1840-1918
Though primarily regarded as the master of animal illustration, Peter was a distinguished portraitist and sculptor, including for his work as an assistant to Auguste Rodin, for whom he carved figures for The Gates of Hell.
Horse and trainer
Silvered bronze, 45 mm, with reverse by Arthus Bertrand for the Concours Hippique du Touquet, 1927, about EF, $125; also available as bronze, 45 mm, with reverse of the Socit pour la Dfense des Animaux, about EF, $125; and bronze, 45 mm, with wreath reverse, ex Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge Collection, EF, tiny spots, $125.
Mare and colt, 1929
Silver, 40 mm, with reverse by Alphe Dubois for the Concourse Central Hippique, 1931, about EF, $225; also available as gilt bronze, 50 mm, with reverse by Henri Dubois, Offered by B. dAillires, F-VF, $75; and silvered bronze, 50 mm, with reverse by Henri Dubois for the Socit de Sport de France, 1932, EF, $150.
Jockey on horseback, 1929
Bronze, 50 mm, with reverse by Henri Dubois, EF, $185.
Fearless dog, 1930
Bronze, 50 mm, with reverse by Henri Dubois, EF, $165.
Youth with fawn
Bronze uniface, 49 mm, mounted on stand, lovely EF, $249; also available as bronze uniface, 49 mm, EF, $215.
Rooster and hens
Bronze, 40 mm, with reverse for the Socit des Aviculteurs de la Gironde, EF, two light spots, $120.
Louis Pasteur Memorial Medal, 1896
Bronze, 68 mm, speckled tone, but a lovely EF, $225.
Raoul Montbrand, Commemorating his Death at Verdun in World War I, 1916
Bronze, 68 mm, VF-EF, $125.
Lucien Coudray, 1864-1932
Coudray was master of the genre plaquette, featuring scenes of everyday life, often the rustic life that his Parisian patrons viewed with nostalgia.
Agriculture, 1904
Struck silver, 100 x 62 mm., engraved to Andr Simon 1909, VF+, $395; bronze,
Charles Pillet, 1869-1960
At the cole des Beaux-Arts in the 1880s, Pillet was a student of Henri Chapu and Jules-Clment Chaplain, and continued an active medallist well into the Art-Deco period.
Electricity
Bronze, uniface, 100 mm; normally struck (2-sided), very rare in this size, VF+, $450.
Ville de Paris, Concours de Faade
Awarded 1926, silvered bronze, 70 mm, $199. SOLD
Nymph with laurel and oak
Round, Offered by P. Guillard, bronze, 50 mm, $65.
Nymph with laurel and oak
Rectangular, Offered by La Petite Gironde, gilt bronze, 39x51 mm, $65.
t, Hiver
Bronze, 26 mm, $49.
Printemps, Automne
Bronze, 16 mm, $29.
Pomone
Bronze uniface, 20 mm, $30; bronze uniface, 14 mm, $20.
Flore
Bronze uniface, 24 mm, $30.
J. Castaigne, 1930
Bronze, 59x68 mm, $75
A.-V. Cornil
Silver, 46x66 mm, $85.
O. Crouzon, 1935
Bronze, 68 mm, $185.
Louis Funck-Bretano, 1929
Bronze, 68 mm, $110.
Raymond Gregoire, Sculptor, 1937
Bronze, 76 mm, $175.
Louis Ombrdanne, 1938
Bronze, 68 mm, $85.
Abel Lafleur, 1875-1953
1908. Bathers, Maier 265
Bronze, 54 mm., light spots, $139
Ren Baudichon, 1878-1963
In addition to his work as a medallist, Baudichon was a talented caricaturist, who drew satirical illustrations for magazines and a French response to Goetzs famous Lusitania medal.
Design, 1903, struck silver, 50 mm., about EF, $175.
Engagement, c. 1908, 74x 66 mm., silver.
Send your want lists to me at: pauljbosco@covad.net