Oscar Roty

Louis Oscar Roty, a renowned French sculptor and medalist, was born on June 12, 1846, in Paris and passed away in the same city on March 23, 1911. His most famous creation, La Semeuse, was used on French coins and postage stamps.

Coming from a modest family, Roty was trained by Horace Lecoq de Boisbaudran at the Petite École (which would become the École des arts décoratifs) and by Hubert Ponscarme at the École des Beaux-Arts. After competing for the Grand Prix de Rome in medal engraving and gemstone, he won several awards before finally being crowned in 1875.

He married Marie Boulanger, daughter of the artistic ironworker Pierre François Marie Boulanger, in 1878. His iconic creation, La Semeuse, was first designed for a medal in 1887, but it was in 1896 that it was adopted for a commission from the Ministry of Finance. The first coins featuring La Semeuse appeared in 1897, and it was also used on postage stamps starting in 1903.

Elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1888, Roty became its president in 1897. He received several awards at universal exhibitions in Paris, as well as the first Medal of Sculpture at the Salon in 1905 for medal engraving.

Roty was decorated with the National Order of the Legion of Honor, progressing from the rank of knight to commander between 1885 and 1890. His works, signed “O. Roty”, display a delicate and fluid style, influenced by ancient art and Art Nouveau.

Numerous works by Roty, including the original preparatory wax of La Semeuse, are preserved at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris and the Oscar Roty Museum in Jargeau (Loiret), established by his son Georges Roty.

List of his works:

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