Allegory of the French Republic
Medium
Painted enamel on copper, partly gilt
Dimensions
Diameter: 7 15/16 in. (20.2 cm)
Classification
Enamels
Culture
French, Paris
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Friends of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts Gifts, 1993
Accession Number
1993.178.1
Tags
Art Historical Context
Created in 1892 by French artist Alfred-Bern Meyer, *Allegory of the French* is a striking painted enamel plaquette on copper, partly gilded, measuring nearly 8 inches in diameter This intimate yet luminous work belongs to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's European Sculpture and Decorative Arts collection exemplifying the revival of enamel techniques in late 19th-century Paris. The artwork allegorically personifies the French Republic during the Third Republic era (0–1940), a time of political stability and cultural flourishing following the Franco-Prussian War. Featuring male profiles—evoking...