By Artist

Godefroid Devreese was one of Belgium’s most prolific medallists. He was born at Courtrai in 1861. He studied sculpture under his father and later at the Academy of Brussels. In 1885 he won the second Grand Prix de Rome. In 1889 he won the first Grand Prix for sculpture at the Academy of Brussels and a gold medal at the International Exposition in Cologne. A brief biography and a complete catalogue of his medallic works is provided in GODEFROID DEVRESE 1861-1941 by Poels, Vandamme and Van Dreiessche.

Hélène Guastalla, sculptor and medallist, was born in 1903. She studied under Gimond and was a regular participant in the biennial expositions in Antwerp and in the Salons. Guastalla died in 1983.

Édouard Fraisse was born on May 14, 1880, at Beaune. He studied under Barrias, Coutan, Chaplain and Vernon. Fraisse collaborated with Henry Demey on numerous medals and plaquettes that typically depicted figures in action. He was admitted to the Société des Artistes Français and exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français, where he won a gold medal in 1937. He was made a chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur in 1929. Fraisse died in Paris on September 13, 1945

Maurice Delannoy was born on March 11, 1885, in Paris.  He studied at the École Germain Pilon under Charles Valton and Jules Édouard Roiné. He became a professor of drawing and worked as a medallisst and sculptor. He designed coins for Morocco, Monaco and Lebanon, and a considerable number of medals. Delannoy was made a Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur in 1947. He died in Paris on April 26, 1972.

Raoul Eugène Lamourdedieu (1877-1953) was born at Faugerolles (Lot-et-Garonne). He studied at the École des Beaux Arts at Bordeaux. He won the Prix de la Ville de Bordeaux at the age of twenty. He moved to Paris and studied at the École des Beaux Arts. Be became a professor at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, a member of La Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts and of the Salon d’Automne. He created numerous medals and sculpture in carved wood and other materials.