1896, France. OPENING OF THE MUS?E SOCIAL. By Louis Oscar Roty (1846-1911, Grand Prix de Rome 1875). Silver 60mm. Maier 99. Cased. (The toning is a little more even and attractive than suggested by the pictures). $350. Sorry, SOLD

Louis Oscar Roty (1846-1911) was born at Paris. He initially studied painting at the ?cole Nationale Sup?rieure des Beaux-Arts under Lecoq and Boisbaudran. It is reported that he lost the money for a paint box and subsequently enrolled in a life-drawing class and thence into sculpting. This trajectory would eventually lead to his career as the most celebrated medallist of his time. Along the way, he studied in the atelier of the statuary Augustin Dumont and under Ponscarme, Chapu and Chaplain. Roty spent three years in Rome, where he modeled a number of waxes. He won the Premier Grand Prix de Rome in 1875. In 1888 he was elected to the Acad?mie des Beaux-Arts. He took the grand prize at the International Exposition in 1889. He was a commander of the L?gion d?Honneur. He was responsible for reintroducing the plaquette, an art form that had been neglected since the Renaissance.