Dominique Vivant Denon (1747–1825)

Louis-François Jeannest

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Jeannest, a bronze founder, was no doubt responsible for casting as well as modeling this medal, which captures admirably its subject's wit and vivacity. Vivant Denon started as a diplomat during the ancien regime and later turned to drawing and printmaking. He was a key tastemaker under Napoleon, who later created him baron of the Empire. Appointed general director of the Musée Napoleon in 1802, the event celebrated by this medal, he was the first organizer of what was to become the Musée du Louvre. The medal is displayed with the Metropolitan's famous mahogany-and-silver coin cabinet in Egyptian taste, traditionally said to have been made for Vivant Denon.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.

Metropolitan Museum of Art