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

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trophy, first simply called 'Coupe du Monde', later renamed the Jules Rimet Trophy. 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 Goddess of Victory"), which remains on display at the

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, 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

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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

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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 centur ...

in Paris and was heavily influenced as a pupil by the French medallists Jules-Clément Chaplain (1839–1909), and Hubert Ponscarme (1827–1903) and worked alongside Alexandre Charpentier (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, at the Salon des Indépendants 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 f ...

. 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 B ...

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