Charles René de Paul de Saint-Marceaux (23 September 1845 – 23 April 1915) was a French

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

Biography

He was born in

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

on 23 September 1845 to Alexandre Jean de Paul de Saint-Marceaux, a member of a noble family, and Emélie Isabelle Moriset. His grandfather, Augustin de Saint-Marceaux, served as mayor of

. At age eighteen went to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to study at the

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

. A student of

François Jouffroy François Jouffroy (; 1 February 1806 – 25 June 1882) was a French sculptor. Biography Jouffroy was born in Dijon, France, the son of a baker, and attended the local drawing school before being admitted to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in ...

, he became primarily a sculptor of portrait busts and animals. He exhibited at the Paris salon from 1868, when, passing up the competition for the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

, he decided to spend time in Florence instead. He passed a second sojourn in Italy in 1873–74. On his return, his marble ''Génie gardant le secret de la tombe'' ("Spirit Guarding the Secret of the Tomb"), conserved in the

Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) () is a museum in Paris, France, on the Rive Gauche, Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts railway station built from 1898 to 1900. The museum holds mai ...

, Paris, shows the marked influence of

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...

. Among his works were several statues created for Baron Rothschild for his

Château de Ferrières Château de Ferrières () is a French château built between 1855 and 1859 for Baron James de Rothschild in the Goût Rothschild style located in central France, some 26 km east of Paris. Rothschild ownership of the Château de Ferrières w ...

and the tomb at

Montmartre Cemetery The Cemetery of Montmartre () is a cemetery in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, France, that dates to the early 19th century. Officially known as the Cimetière du Nord, it is the third largest necropolis in Paris, after the Père Lachaise Cemet ...

in Paris for Alexandre Dumas, fils. In 1891 René de Saint-Marceaux joined the newly formed

Société des artistes français The Société des Artistes Français (, meaning "Society of French Artists") is the association of French painters and sculptors established in 1881. Its annual exhibition is called the "Salon des artistes français" (not to be confused with the ...

. In 1892, he married Marguerite Jourdain Baugnies and adopted her three children from her prior marriage. Saint-Marceaux was also a medallist, and a collector of Ancient Greek coins. In 1907 he was commissioned to execute the plaquette for the Société française des Amis de la Médaille. His bronze and granite monument for the headquarters of the

Universal Postal Union The Universal Postal Union (UPU, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations and facilitates a uniform worldwide postal system. It has 192 member states and is headquartered in Be ...

Bern, Switzerland Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

(''illustration'') erected in 1909, represents the five continents as floating figures joined in transmitting messages around the globe. A

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the f ...

honoring the sculptor and the monument was issued jointly by

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 2009. René de Saint-Marceaux died in Paris in 1915.

Gallery

Image:Saint-Marceaux, Jean-Louis Forain.jpg, Bust of Jean-Louis Forain, 1913, Musée d'Orsay, Paris. Image:EB1911 Plate VIII. v24, pg.509, Fig 5.jpg, ''Spirit Guarding the Secret of the Tomb'', Musée d'Orsay, Paris. Image:Rene de Saint Marceaux Grand Deuil.jpg, ''Grand Deuil'', 1903. Image:Saint-Marceaux statue of Bailly (2).jpg, Statue of Bailly, 19th century, Musée du Jeu de Paume. Image:René de Saint-Marceaux-La Jeunesse de Dante (1).jpg, ''La Jeunesse de Dante'', Musée des beaux-arts, Reims. Image:UPU2.JPG, UPU monument, 1909, Bern, Switzerland.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Marceaux 1845 births 1915 deaths Artists from Reims Members of the Académie des beaux-arts École des Beaux-Arts alumni 20th-century French sculptors 19th-century French sculptors French male sculptors French nobility Members of the Ligue de la patrie française Commanders of the Legion of Honour 19th-century French male artists René