Abel Lafleur (4 November 1875 – 27 January 1953) was a French sculptor who designed and made the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

trophy, first simply called 'Coupe du Monde', later renamed the

Jules Rimet Trophy The World Cup is a solid gold trophy that is awarded to the winners of the FIFA World Cup association football tournament. Since the advent of the World Cup in 1930, two trophies have been used: the Jules Rimet Trophy from 1930 to 1970, before ...

. The trophy was 35 cm in height, weighed 3.8 kg and was made of gold-plated sterling silver, with a blue base of semi-precious stone (lapis lazuli). On the four sides of the base there were four gold plates, onto which would be written the names of the winners of the trophy. The sculpture, although based on the incomplete

Nike of Samothrace The ''Winged Victory of Samothrace'', or the ''Nike of Samothrace'', is a votive monument originally found on the island of Samothrace, north of the Aegean Sea. It is a masterpiece of Greek sculpture from the Hellenistic era, dating from the beg ...

("The Goddess of Victory"), which remains on display at the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

, was designed to include the shallow, octagonal cup supported by upraised arms and a garland surrounding the model's head. Lafleur knowingly dispensed with the faithful, dynamic design (as used by

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

to adorn their vehicles) but decided on a static representation that would assist in how the trophy was held. Lafleur was born in Rodez, in South-West France in the

Midi-Pyrénées Midi-Pyrénées (; oc, Miègjorn-Pirenèus or ; es, Mediodía-Pirineos) is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Occitania. It was the largest region of Metropolitan France by are ...

region. He attended the

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth century ...

in Paris and was heavily influenced as a pupil by the French medallists

Jules-Clément Chaplain Jules-Clément Chaplain (12 July 1839 – 13 July 1909) was a French sculptor and one of its finest medallists. With Louis Oscar Roty (1846–1911) he helped found the Art Nouveau movement. Chaplain was born in Mortagne-au-Perche, Orne, and ...

(1839–1909), and

Hubert Ponscarme François Joseph Hubert Ponscarme (20 April 1827, Belmont-lès-Darney - 27 February 1903, Malakoff, Hauts-de-Seine, Malakoff) was a French sculptor and medallist. Biography He was the second of twelve children born to a family of farmers. At tha ...

(1827–1903) and worked alongside

Alexandre Charpentier Alexandre-Louis-Marie Charpentier (1856–1909) was a French sculptor, medalist, craftsman, and cabinet-maker. Life and work From working-class origins and apprenticed to an engraver as a young man, he became a studio assistant to the innov ...

(1856–1909), who had been an assistant to Ponscarme. Lafleur specialised in the naked female form, as a subject for medallic sculpture. From 1901 Lafleur exhibited regularly at the

Salon des Artistes Français The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...

, at the

Salon des Indépendants Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

and at the

Salon d'Automne The Salon d'Automne (; en, Autumn Salon), or Société du Salon d'automne, is an art exhibition held annually in Paris, France. Since 2011, it is held on the Champs-Élysées, between the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, in mid-October. The ...

. In 1910 he contributed to the New York Medallic Exhibition. Lafleur was awarded a gold medal, and on 8 August 1920 he was nominated to the grade of Chevalier of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

. Lafleur was a contemporary of René Gregoire (1871–1945) and

Pierre Charles Lenoir Pierre Lenoir (23 May 1879, in Paris – 9 September 1953, in Paris) was a French sculptor. Biography Pierre Lenoir was a French sculptor and medallist and was one of the Breton sculptors born in the 1880s who studied together at the École r ...

(1871–1953). He also competed in the

art competitions at the 1932 Summer Olympics Art competitions were held as part of the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, United States. Medals were awarded in five categories (architecture, literature, music, painting, and sculpture), for works inspired by sport-related themes. Art com ...

References

External links

*http://www.finemedals.com/artists *http://www.lvbeethoven.com/Numism/Coins_Plaques.html
Biography of Abel Lafleur
Olympic competitors in art competitions People from Rodez 1875 births 1953 deaths 20th-century French sculptors 20th-century French engravers 20th-century French male artists French male sculptors {{France-sculptor-stub

See also

References

External links