In Honor of Henry Lozé, Prefect of Police of Paris

Art Historical Context

This striking silvered bronze plaquette, created by French artist Louis-Oscar Roty in 1892, commemorates Henry Lozé during his tenure as Prefect of Police of Paris. Measuring 10 by 7 inches, the work belongs to the tradition of medals and plaquettes, a form of portable sculpture that flourished in late nineteenth-century France as a means of honoring public figures and civic achievements. Its classification within the Metropolitan Museum’s Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts underscores its dual role as both an artistic object and a historical document. The imagery, suggested...

About the Artist

Louis-Oscar Roty · 1846–1911

Louis-Oscar Roty, commonly known as Oscar Roty (1846–1911), was born on June 11 in Paris's Belleville neighborhood, the son of a modest schoolmaster. He began his artistic training under Horace Lecoq de Boisbaudran at the Petite École (later the École des Arts Décoratifs), honing his drawing skills, before entering the École des Beaux-Arts in 1864. There, he studied sculpture and medal engraving u...