Jules Ferry
Medal
1898 (made)
1898 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This medal depicting Jules Ferry is made by Jules-Clément Chaplain (1839-1909). Ferry (1832-1909) was a statesman in the early years of the Third Republic of France. He was Prime Minister twice, from September 1880 - November 1881 and again from February 1883 to April 1885. The extent of his expansionist policies is Asia and Africa was matched by his unpopularity at home. In Asia, France conquered Tonkin and Indo-China, in Africa the Congo and Madagaskar.
Chaplain (1839-1909) was a french medallist and sculptor. He entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1857, where he studied sculpture under François Jouffroy and medals under Eugène Oudiné. In 1863 he won the Prix de Rome for medal-engraving and worked in Rome from 1864 to 1868. He exhibited regularly at the Salon from 1863, receiving numerous awards. As the leading French medallist he was elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1881. He had been profoundly important in transforming the public's perception of medallic art.
Chaplain changed public taste by moving away from the established tradition by which medallic portraits and reverse compositions emerged from a completely flat field bounded by a raised circular rim. He incorporated the field into the composition, using it not as a neutral background but as the pictorial space in which the event or portrait sitter was situated.
Chaplain (1839-1909) was a french medallist and sculptor. He entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1857, where he studied sculpture under François Jouffroy and medals under Eugène Oudiné. In 1863 he won the Prix de Rome for medal-engraving and worked in Rome from 1864 to 1868. He exhibited regularly at the Salon from 1863, receiving numerous awards. As the leading French medallist he was elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1881. He had been profoundly important in transforming the public's perception of medallic art.
Chaplain changed public taste by moving away from the established tradition by which medallic portraits and reverse compositions emerged from a completely flat field bounded by a raised circular rim. He incorporated the field into the composition, using it not as a neutral background but as the pictorial space in which the event or portrait sitter was situated.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Jules Ferry (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Struck bronze |
| Brief description | Medal, Jules Ferry, bronze, by Jules-Clément Chaplain, French, 19th century, 1898. |
| Physical description | Obverse: Profile portrait to left of Jules Ferry, balding and bearded, dressed in jacket with shirt and tie. Legend. Reverse: Allegory of France and her colonies represented by a standing female figure, wearing classical robes, winged helmet and holding a flag. Her right hand reaches over the head of a kneeling, naked figure who holds a map naming the Colonies Françaises - at left CONGO, part of (MADA) GASCAR and TONKIN, M DE CHINE and at lower edge of the map TUNISIE. The figures are placed on a ledge above a blank exergue against a background of ships, a mosque and houses raised on stilts above the water. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | 'JULES . FERRY [dated] 5.AVRIL / 1832 / 17 . MARS / 1893 (obverse) |
| Object history | Given by Professor J. Hull Grundy and Mrs. Ann Hull Grundy, in 1980. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This medal depicting Jules Ferry is made by Jules-Clément Chaplain (1839-1909). Ferry (1832-1909) was a statesman in the early years of the Third Republic of France. He was Prime Minister twice, from September 1880 - November 1881 and again from February 1883 to April 1885. The extent of his expansionist policies is Asia and Africa was matched by his unpopularity at home. In Asia, France conquered Tonkin and Indo-China, in Africa the Congo and Madagaskar. Chaplain (1839-1909) was a french medallist and sculptor. He entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1857, where he studied sculpture under François Jouffroy and medals under Eugène Oudiné. In 1863 he won the Prix de Rome for medal-engraving and worked in Rome from 1864 to 1868. He exhibited regularly at the Salon from 1863, receiving numerous awards. As the leading French medallist he was elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1881. He had been profoundly important in transforming the public's perception of medallic art. Chaplain changed public taste by moving away from the established tradition by which medallic portraits and reverse compositions emerged from a completely flat field bounded by a raised circular rim. He incorporated the field into the composition, using it not as a neutral background but as the pictorial space in which the event or portrait sitter was situated. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | A.5-1980 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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