GALLE, ANDRÉ (French). Celebrated Medallist, born at St Etienne-en-Forez (Loire) on the 15th of May, 1761, died at Paris on the 23rd of December, 1844. His father, who was a fairly clever Die-sinker and Seal-engraver left St Etienne in 1773 to settle at Lyons. There he placed his son as apprentice in the button factory of Paul Le Cour, at the age of 12 years. Already young Galle was beginning to display exceptional disposition for the arts, and he was per- mitted to follow the public schools for drawing. This however did not satisfy him, and in 1776 he left his master and came to Paris, where a better situation had been promised him, but instead of which he found himself soon penniless and obliged to enlist in the Army. The harsh treatment he was submitted to whilst engaged on some government earthworks at St Denis so thoroughly disgusted the young man from his escapade that he was quite pleased and thankful, when through his father's intervention, he obtained his release from service and reinstatement in the Lyons button factory. Henceforward Galle, then scarcely 16 years old, gave himself up to work with extraordinary assiduity ; he learned engraving, made good progress in designing, and acquired a thorough knowledge of the various branches of industry he was engaged in. Once, his master having to absent himself for a few days, entrusted to his foreman the impression of a button, engraved for some noble man, and which was to be delivered on the following day. Unfor- tunately the die broke during the tempering process. Great conster- nation followed in the workshop, when our young artist offered to execute a new die and temper it within the limited time, a feat which he accomplished to the delight of every one concerned, and not least to that of his chief, who shortly after took him into Eartnership. Some years later, on the death of his associate, he ecame sole head of the factory and began to devote his attention to medal-engraving. In 1792, Galle executed his first medal, repre- senting a head of Liberty ; this piece ot delicate workmanship was the means of his receiving the honour to be deputed to Paris by the city of Lyons on the question of casting bells. It is at this time that he produced two patterns for coins struck in bell-metal; one of these bears the head of Mirabeau, which is one of the best likenesses of the great orator (illustrated). Soon after his arrival in the capital, the " Comité de Salut public" ordered from him a medal the subject of which was to be " Hercules crushing the Hydra," symbolizing the French people destroying the abuses of the monar- chical system. About this time, the artist became acquainted with the celebrated engraver Dupre who procured work for him at the Mint; he also studied sculpture under Chaudet, in order to attain greater efficiency in modelling. In 1799, Denon, who later became Director of the Imperial Museum, entrusted Galle with the execution of a commemorative medal of the Conquest ot Upper Egypt, which remains one of his best productions. Between 1806 and 1839, the artist was a regular exhibitor at the Annual Salons : 1806, Conquest of Upper Egypt (illustrated); — Return from Egypt ; — Bonaparte's arrival at Fréjus ; — Coro nation of Napoleon (ordered by the Prefecture de la Seine) ; — Taking of Vienna and Presburg ; — State Seals ; — 1808, Portraitmedallion of H. M. the Emperor and King; — The Mayors ot Paris at Schoenbrunn ; — Battle of Iena; — Battle of Friedland ; — Austria subdued ; — Portrait of Xavier Bichat ; — Notaries of the Arrondissement of Lyons ; — Seal of the King of Naples ; — 1810, Marriage of the Emperor with the Archduchess MarieLouise; — Princess Eliza ; — V. Denon ; — 1812, The King of Rome ; — Hippocrates ; — Two Portrait-medallions of Ladies ; — Battle of Wagram ; — 1814, Retreat from Russia ; — Memorial to the Duke of Montebello ; — Portrait of Jean Goujon ; — Portrait of Philibert Delorme ; — State Seals; — " Médaille de Fidélité" " to Louis XVIII. ; — 1816, Return of Louis XVIII. to France; — Marriage of the Duc de Berry ; — 1819, Plate for 500 Francs Banknote of the Bank of France ; — Medal on the Death of Louis XVI. ; — Portrait of King Louis XVIII. ; — Lamoignon de Malesherbes ; — René Descartes ; — Baptism of the Duke of Bordeaux ; — Medal presented to the Prefect of police by the Paris brokers; — 1822, Louis XVIII. enters Paris ; — The End of the Captivity of Madame ; — Jeton of the Notaries of the Laon Arrondissement; — Industry promoted by Science; — 1824, The Duchess of Angoul?me leaving France; — Portrait of Louis David, 1822 ; — Portrait of Henry Grattan, the Irish statesman ; — Portrait of Lamoignon de Malesherbes; — Portrait of Michele Colombo, Italian writer; — Portrait of René Descartes ; — Medal for the Mining Company of St Etienne ; — Prudence holding mirror surrounded by serpent; — Commemora tion of the erection of a Statue to Louis XIV. at Lyons; — Study of a head; — 1839, Conquest of Algiers; — Peace and Com- merce ; — Portrait of Charles X. ; — Portrait of A. M. J. J. Dupin; — Portrait of Matthew Boulton (a fine piece of work) ; — Portrait of James Watt ; — Memorial of Canning; — 1840, Translation of the ashes of Napoleon to the Invalides. When Galle executed this last medal, he was eighty years old. Galle's signature is invariably found as GALLE or GALLE F. As a copper-plate engraver, this artist produced, besides patterns for Bank-notes, the portraits of Louis David, Bichat, Watt, Canning, Baron Gros, Alexander I., and other notabilities. He obtained in 1809 the Decennial Prize, was elected Member of the Institut in 1819, and made a Knight of the Legion of Honour in 1825. His principal pupils were : Dubourg, Michaut, Oudiné and Adrien Vauthier. "Galle", said M. Raoul-Rochette, " fut l'historien en bronze du Consulat et de l'Empire et son nom restera éternellement associé aux souvenirs de cette glorieuse période par autant de médailles qu'elle a compté de victoires. " The artist, self-taught as he was, was a man of great abilities. Larousse has perhaps gone too far in his tribute of praise to the artist, but it is nevertheless true that some of his compositions compare favourably with the best medallic productions of his con temporaries, and that they betray the hand of a master. M. Roger Marx is nearer the mark in his appreciation of Galle's talent when he says : "Jusqu'á l'extr?me vieillesse, il reste le ciseleur de boutons de ses débuts, l'ouvrier impeccable qui ne s'épargne aucun détail, et dont l'outil, merveilleusement adroit ? consigner les minusculités en apparence insaisissables, désespérera la patience et l'envie des graveurs ? venir. » Baron Gros has made a remarkable portrait of the artist, which is still kept by the family. Bibliography. — Grand Dictionnaire Larousse. — Chavignerie et Auvray, op. cit. — Magasin encyclopédique Millin, 20 anne'e, 1815, Tome V, p. 214. — Dr F. P. Weber, Medals and Medallions of the Nineteenth Century, relating to England, by foreign Artists, London, 1894. — R. W. Cochran-Patrick, Catalogue of the Medals of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1884. — E. Edwards, Napoleon Medals, London, 1857. — Thomsen's Catalogue, Bronce Medaillier. H. A. Grueber, English Personal Medals from 1760, Num. Chronicle, 1888-1891. — Gabet, Dictionnaire des Artistes de l'école française, Paris, 1831. — Bolzenthal, op. cit. — N. Rondot, Les Graveurs de Lyon, Mâcon, 1897. — R. Wizrx, Les Medailleurs français depuis 1789, Paris, 1897. — P. Bordeaux, La numismatiqne de Louis XVIII dans les provinces beiges en 1815, Paris, 1902. — A. Evrard de Fayolle, Numismatique de la Chambre de commerce de Bordeaux, 1899
Source: Biographical dictionary of medallists; coin, gem, and seal-engravers, mint-masters, ancient and modern, with references to their works B.C. 500-A.D. 1900; compiled by L. Forrer, London 1904
Source: Biographical dictionary of medallists; coin, gem, and seal-engravers, mint-masters, ancient and modern, with references to their works B.C. 500-A.D. 1900; compiled by L. Forrer, London 1904
FRANCOIS, HENRI LOUIS
FRANCOIS, HENRI LOUIS (French). Contemporary Gem-engraver and Medallist, born at Vert-le-Petit (Seine-et-Oise), in 1841, died at Paris in 1896. Pupil of Bonnat and Chapu. M. Babelon says concerning him : " C'est un ma?tre véritable, aussi modeste qu'habile, qui nous paraît avoir, mieux que tout autre, réussi ? s'inspirer des nobles traditions du XVIII si?cle ". He was an officer of the Legion of Honour. The following works by him may be seen at the Luxembourg Museum, Paris : The French Republic,...
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FRANCOIS, HENRI LOUIS (French). Contemporary Gem-engraver and Medallist, born at Vert-le-Petit (Seine-et-Oise), in 1841, died at Paris in 1896. Pupil of Bonnat and Chapu. M. Babelon says concerning him : " C'est un ma?tre véritable, aussi modeste qu'habile, qui nous paraît avoir, mieux que tout autre, réussi ? s'inspirer des nobles traditions du XVIII si?cle ". He was an officer of the Legion of Honour. The following works by him may be seen at the Luxembourg Museum, Paris : The French Republic,...
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FREEMAN, SIR RALPH
FREEMAN, SIR RALPH (Brit.). Mint-master at the Royal Mint, London, under Charles I, anni 11-16 of his reign, and again under Charles II. Kenyon (Gold Coins of England, p. 169) mentions the following fact: " Charles II. upon his restoration made no alteration in the coins, except by restoring the type used by his father, with a laureated bust substituted for a crowned one. The indenture for this coinage was made with Sir Ralph Freeman, on the 20th of July, 1660, and Unites, Double Crowns, and Bri...
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FREEMAN, SIR RALPH (Brit.). Mint-master at the Royal Mint, London, under Charles I, anni 11-16 of his reign, and again under Charles II. Kenyon (Gold Coins of England, p. 169) mentions the following fact: " Charles II. upon his restoration made no alteration in the coins, except by restoring the type used by his father, with a laureated bust substituted for a crowned one. The indenture for this coinage was made with Sir Ralph Freeman, on the 20th of July, 1660, and Unites, Double Crowns, and Bri...
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FREI, HANS
FREI, HANS (Swiss). Contemporary Medallist, and Sculptor. Born at Basle on the 30th of April, 1868, he was destined in his first youth to the calling of a copper-plate engraver, and, with that object in view, was apprenticed to a professional of his native town. While still working under him, he applied himself to design and studied modelling, in which he met with uncommon success, thanks to his natural ability and a display of extraordinary perse- verance under trying circumstances. He then vis...
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FREI, HANS (Swiss). Contemporary Medallist, and Sculptor. Born at Basle on the 30th of April, 1868, he was destined in his first youth to the calling of a copper-plate engraver, and, with that object in view, was apprenticed to a professional of his native town. While still working under him, he applied himself to design and studied modelling, in which he met with uncommon success, thanks to his natural ability and a display of extraordinary perse- verance under trying circumstances. He then vis...
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FREMANTLE, THE HON. SIR CHARLES WILLIAM K. C. B.
FREMANTLE, THE HON. SIR CHARLES WILLIAM K. C. B. (Brit.), born at Swanbourne, Bucks, on Aug. 12, 1834; third son of the late 1st Lord Cottesloe. "In 1868 he was appointed Deputy-Master and Comptroller of the Royal Mint; and in 1870 was constituted principal executive officer of that department, the Mastership of the Mint having by the Coinage Act of that year been vested in the Chancellor of the Exchequer for the time being. He retired from that appointment in 1894. He was appointed, in 1876, a ...
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FREMANTLE, THE HON. SIR CHARLES WILLIAM K. C. B. (Brit.), born at Swanbourne, Bucks, on Aug. 12, 1834; third son of the late 1st Lord Cottesloe. "In 1868 he was appointed Deputy-Master and Comptroller of the Royal Mint; and in 1870 was constituted principal executive officer of that department, the Mastership of the Mint having by the Coinage Act of that year been vested in the Chancellor of the Exchequer for the time being. He retired from that appointment in 1894. He was appointed, in 1876, a ...
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