Memorial to Desaix
Medium
Gilt bronze, struck
Dimensions
Diameter: 1 5/8 in. (4.1 cm)
Classification
Medals and Plaquettes
Culture
French
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Hon. Levi P. Morton, 1885
Accession Number
85.2.19
Art Historical Context
This striking gilt bronze medal, created in 1810 at the Paris Mint, serves as a memorial to General Louis Desaix, a celebrated French military figure. Measuring just 15/8 inches in, the piece was using traditional techniques that allowed for fine detail and durability, then gilded to enhance its luminous, prestigious appearance. The collaboration involved medalists Bertrand Andrieu and Nicholas Guy Antoine Brenet, along with Dominique Vivant Denon, a key figure in Napoleonic cultural institutions who oversaw many official commemorative projects. Such medals formed an important part of early 1...
About the Artist
Bertrand Andrieu|Nicholas Guy Antoine Brenet|baron Dominique Vivant Denon|Paris Mint · 1761–1822
French, Bordeaux 1761–1822 Paris