The Art of the Medal in the 19th and 20th Century

from December 11, 2012 to May 19, 2013 Richelieu

In partnership with the Musée d’Orsay, the Petit Palais and Lille and Lyon Art Museums, the Museum of Medals and Antiques dedicates an exhibition to the great revival of French Medals in the late 19^th Century. Cast masterpieces by Chaplain, Oscar Roty or Daniel-Dupuis display how classical iconography was adapted to new themes of modern life (railway, cars, electric light, sports, social housing, or the rabies vaccine). The lightness cast in bronze of the Art nouveau style was put to an end by World War I. Pierre Roche chronicled the deeds through his “Metallic History of War”, but the change of spirit lead medallists of the 1920s, like Dammann, Mascaux and Pierre Turin, to return to simple lines and a Neo-Greek style.