- Jules-Clément Chaplain
thumb|right|200px|Monument to Octave Gréard by Henri Paul Nénot and Jules-Clément Chaplain.Jules-Clément Chaplain (July 12, 1839 - July 13, 1909) was a French sculptor and one of its finest medallists. With
Louis Oscar Roty (1846–1911) he helped found theArt Nouveau movement.Chaplain was born in
Mortagne ,Orne , and in 1857 entered theÉcole des Beaux-Arts where he studied sculpture underFrançois Jouffroy and medals underEugène Oudiné . In 1863 he won thePrix de Rome for medal-engraving and worked in Rome 1864-1868. He exhibited regularly at the Salon from 1863, receiving numerous awards, and in 1869 returned to Paris where he found official success almost immediately. IN 1877 he was named official medallist of the French government, in 1878 a chevalier of theLégion d'honneur , and in 1881 appointed to theAcadémie des Beaux-Arts . In 1896 he became Art Director of theManufacture nationale de Sèvres in 1900 a Commander of theLégion d'honneur .Chaplain was responsible for the official portraits of every president of the
French Republic fromPatrice de Mac-Mahon, duc de Magenta , in 1877 toÉmile Loubet in 1899. He also received the commission for engraving the gold coinage of France, and his official gold medal commemorating the 1896 visit of CzarNicholas II of Russia was called "a masterpiece and one of the finest ever struck."References
* [http://www.answers.com/topic/jules-cl-ment-chaplain-2?cat=entertainment Answers.com entry]
* [http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-106109/Jules-Clement-Chaplain Britannica.com entry]
* [http://www.dcyates.com/medals/article.htm DCYates.com article with medal photograph]
* [http://www.finemedals.com/jules_chaplain.htm FineMedals.com photographs]
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