Jules Clément Chaplain (French, 1839–1909)
Léon Bonnat, 1896
Cast bronze, 3 3/4 in. diam.
2002.45

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.

Portrait in profile of the painter Léon Bonnat.
Inscribed: LEON BONNAT MBRE DE L’INSTITUT.
Signed bottom center: J. C. CHAPLAIN.