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Vierge aux Deux Anges thumbnail 2
Not currently on display at the V&A

Vierge aux Deux Anges

Medal
1931 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This uniface bronze medal was made by Henri Dropsy in France in 1931. Henri Dropsy (1885-1969) was one of the most influential French medallists of the first half of the twentieth century. He trained a generation of French medallists, directing the medal-engraving studio at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris from 1930 until his retirement in 1955.
Designed in 1931, at the height of Dropsy's creativity, this uniface medal was edited in bronze and ceramic (Monnaie de Paris, 1964, no. 109 p. 58). Dropsy's sources of inspiration were varied and eclectic. The format of this medal of religious subject evokes Renaissance relief sculpture, while stylistically it shows Italo-Byzantine, Romanesque and Gothic elements.


Object details

Category
Object type
Titles
  • Vierge aux Deux Anges (assigned by artist)
  • Virgin and child with two angels (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Cast bronze.
Brief description
Medal, cast bronze, Virgin and child with two angels, 'Vierge aux Deux Anges', by Henri Dropsy, France, 1931
Physical description
Uniface, circular bronze relief. The Virgin Mary is seated on a throne at the centre, holding the infant Jesus on her lap. Two angels resting on clouds are represented either side of them, clasping hands in a gesture of adoration.
The surface of the relief shows a fine network of concentric circles radiating from the infant's groin area through to the edge. These lines might possibly have been left from a reducing machine: where these should have been erased once the casting was complete, Dropsy may have considered these added to the formal qualities of the object.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 102mm
Marks and inscriptions
'H. DROPSY' (On the object's proper right, below the angel)
Object history
Designed in 1931, at the height of Dropsy's creativity, this uniface medal was edited in bronze and ceramic (Monnaie de Paris, 1964, no. 109 p. 58). Dropsy's sources of inspiration were varied and eclectic. The format of this medal of religious subject evokes Renaissance relief sculpture, while stylistically it shows Italo-Byzantine, Romanesque and Gothic elements.

This object was lot 38 at the postal auction MB54 at Simmons Gallery on 19 July 2011 and purchased for £220.
Subjects depicted
Summary
This uniface bronze medal was made by Henri Dropsy in France in 1931. Henri Dropsy (1885-1969) was one of the most influential French medallists of the first half of the twentieth century. He trained a generation of French medallists, directing the medal-engraving studio at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris from 1930 until his retirement in 1955.
Designed in 1931, at the height of Dropsy's creativity, this uniface medal was edited in bronze and ceramic (Monnaie de Paris, 1964, no. 109 p. 58). Dropsy's sources of inspiration were varied and eclectic. The format of this medal of religious subject evokes Renaissance relief sculpture, while stylistically it shows Italo-Byzantine, Romanesque and Gothic elements.
Bibliographic references
  • Monnaie de Paris, Henri Dropsy. Cinquante ans de médaille, exhibition catalogue January-February 1964, with a foreword by Pierre Dehaye and and introduction by Raymond Joly, cat. 109, p. 58
  • Vandenbrouck-Przybylski, Melanie, ' 'These should without delay be represented in our museum' Nineteenth- and twentieth-century French medals at the V&A', The Medal, No.61, Autumn 2012, pp. 21-37, fig. 22
Collection
Accession number
A.7-2011

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Record createdAugust 22, 2011
Record URL
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