Design for a Medal: Marine 1758
1758
Medium
Red chalk; red chalk wash surrounding design
Dimensions
9 3/16 x 9 3/16 in. (23.3 x 23.3 cm.)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1961
Accession Number
61.165.1
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
Created in 1758 by the celebrated French sculptor and draftsman Edme Bouchardon, *Design for a Medal: Marine* exemplifies the refined preparatory work that bridged sculpture and the decorative arts in eighteenth-century France. Bouchardon, known for his elegant neoclassical style and public commissions under Louis XV, frequently turned his hand to medal designs. These small-scale works celebrated royal achievements and state institutions, including the navy. Executed in red chalk with a subtle wash border, the square drawing measures just over nine inches on each side. This intimate format al...
About the Artist
Edme Bouchardon · 1698–1762
Born 29 May 1698; died 27 July 1762. Bouchardon was a student of Guillaume Coustou, and won the prix de Rome in 1722. He spent ten years (1722-1732) in Rome, Italy working on various projects for Pope Clement XII. In 1732 Bouchardon was recalled to Paris and named sculptor to the king. Bouchardon became a professor at the Académie Royale in 1746. He worked on an equestrian monument of Louis XV, Ki...