Jules-Felix Coutan

Infobox Artist
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name = Jules Coutan


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birthdate = 1848
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deathdate = 1939
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nationality = France
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awards = Prix de Rome

Jules-Felix Coutan (1848 - 1939) was a French sculptor best known for the sculptural group above the entrance to Grand Central Terminal in New York City.

As a student at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Coutan was awarded the Prix de Rome in 1872, and later taught at the Beaux-Arts school. Among his pupils was Hippolyte Lefèbvre. He was elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1900.

For Grand Central, Coutan was contracted to provide a quarter-size scale plaster model of the three figure allegorical "Transportation" group, which he developed from 1911 through 1914. He never visited the U.S. The carving was performed by the Piccirilli Brothers.

Work

* the reliefs "Science" and "Labor" for the Pont de Bir-Hakeim in Paris
* figure of "La France de la Renaissance" for the Pont Alexandre III
* caryatids for the Opéra-Comique, Paris, 1899
* the bust of Jean-Charles Alphand at the Père Lachaise Cemetery
* Franco-Prussian War Memorial, Poitiers
* angel figures for the José C. Paz tomb, La Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires, Argentina

References