Jules Clément Chaplain (French, 1839–1909)
Portrait of Alexandre Cabanel, 1888
Silvered bronze, 3 15/16 in. diam.
2002.34

Chaplain won the Prix de Rome for medal-engraving in 1863, and went on to have a highly successful career, including election to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1881 and an appointment as Art Director of the Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory in 1896. In 1877 Chaplain became the official medallist of the French government, creating a series of presidential portrait medals. His many animated and realistic medallions of intellectuals and artists, however, constitute his greatest achievement.

Obverse: Portrait in profile of the painter Alexandre Cabanel.
Signed: J.C.C.

Reverse: A depiction of the muse of painting seated between an easel and a palette with brushes.
Inscribed: NÉ A MONTPELLIER 1823. GRAND PRIX DE ROME 1845. MEMBRE DE L’INSTITUT 1863.
Signed:  J. C. Chaplain 1888.