Summary

Medal Venus de Medici, Issued by France, 1803
Artist: Romain Jeuffroy
Minted by Paris Mint

Obverse Description

Head on Bonaparte right, below in small letters, JEUFFROY. FECIT / 1803 / DENON DIR. C. D. MUSEE. C.D. ARTS

Reverse Description

Image of the ancient statue known as the Venus de Medici; around above, AUX ARTS LA VICTORIER; around below in small lettering, L'AN IV DU CONSULAT DE BONEPARTE

Edge Description

Plain

Significance

"Amongst the various projects of Napoleon to attract the attention of the Parisian populace, and the admiration of the world, was that of professing to pay great attention to the arts, and of giving a great facility to the examination of the valuable remnants of antiquity and art which he had possessed himself of from the various European powers ; by this means he amused and delighted the Parisians by a pompous arrangement of the pictures and statues, thereby rendering it necessary that all those who wished to examine and study from the chefs d'ceuvre of art, should perform those studies at Paris.

Note. - This beautiful medal was struck under the direction of M. Denon, keeper of the medals in the Musee Francaise, and presented to Bonaparte on his visiting the Museum ; it is engraved in the 4th vol. of the Musee Franchise as a vignette to the article Venus de Medicis." Laskey p.61 (written in 1818)

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