The Three Consuls: Napoleon, Cambacérès, Lebrun
Medium
Bronze, struck
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
Rogers Fund, 1977
Accession Number
1977.254.1
Tags
Art Historical Context
This striking bronze medal, created by French artist Romain-Vincent Jeuffroy in 1802, captures the three consuls who governed France during the early years of Napoleon’s rise to power. Measuring just over two and a half inches in diameter, the work features profiled portraits of Napoleon Bonaparte as First Consul, alongside Jean-Jacques-Régis de Cambacérès and Charles-François Lebrun. Produced through the precise technique of striking, the medal exemplifies the period’s revival of classical portraiture to convey authority and stability. Historically, 1802 marked the height of the Consulate, e...
About the Artist
Romain-Vincent Jeuffroy · 1749–1826
Romain-Vincent Jeuffroy (1749–1826) was a French gemstone engraver and medalist who served Napoleon Bonaparte and became a founding member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts. Born on July 16, 1749, in Rouen, Jeuffroy specialized in the demanding art of engraving on precious and semi-precious stones, a technique requiring exceptional precision, patience, and artistic sensitivity. His career spanned the...