Death and Funeral of President Carnot, 1894

Art Historical Context

This silver medal by Louis-Oscar Roty commemorates the 1894 assassination and state funeral of French President Marie François Sadi Carnot. Struck in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, the plaquette captures a moment of national mourning for a leader killed by an anarchist during a public appearance in Lyon. As a work in the European Sculpture and Decorative Arts collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, it reflects the French tradition of using small-scale medals to mark pivotal political events and preserve collective memory. Roty, one of the most celebrated French medallists of the late nineteenth century, excelled at the struck medal technique, which allowed intricate relief designs to be reproduced in silver with remarkable clarity. Measuring just over three inches tall, the piece demonstrates how this portable art form could convey solemnity and dignity within a compact format. Such medals were widely collected and gifted, serving both as personal mementos and public tributes. Today the work offers visitors a tangible connection to a turbulent period in French republican history, highlighting how art and politics intersected in everyday objects.

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...