Portrait of Mme. Herbette

Art Historical Context

Nestled in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's European Sculpture and Decorative Arts collection, *Portrait of Mme. Herb* (1887) is a bronze cast medal by the renowned French artist Louis-Oscar Roty Measuring just 2 11/16 inches (68 mm) in diameter this intimate plaquette captures the elegant profile of its subject, a woman rendered with graceful poise. Roty, a master of the medallic arts during the late 19th century, exemplifies the French tradition of finely crafted portraits that blended classical influences with emerging modern sensibilities. Crafted in bronze—a durable yet refined medium fa...

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...