In memoriam of President Woolsey of Yale University
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
Diameter: 2 11/16 in. (6.8 cm)
Classification
Medals and Plaquettes
Culture
French
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of the Professors of the College through Charles Tracy, 1882
Accession Number
82.3
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate bronze medal, titled *In Memoriam of President Woolsey Yale University*, was crafted in 1882 by the esteemed French artist Jules-Clément Chaplain. Measuring just 2 11/16 inches in diameter, it belongs to the tradition of medals and plaquettes—small, finely detailed sculptural works prized for their portability and precision. Produced in the European Sculpture and Decorative Arts tradition, its profile depiction of a man (likely Woolsey himself) exemplifies the classical elegance of 19th-century French medallic art, where intricate engraving captured likenesses with remarkable dep...
About the Artist
Jules-Clément Chaplain · 1839–1909
Jules-Clément Chaplain (1839–1909) was a French engraver and medallist who became the most celebrated practitioner of the art medal in late nineteenth-century France. Born in Mortagne-au-Perche in Normandy, he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris under Jouffroy and Oudiné and won the Prix de Rome for engraving in 1863, which enabled him to study in Italy for several years. Chaplain's work...