Madame Defly (1785–1875)

Madame Defly (1785–1875)

Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Madame Defly was reader to Princess Mathilde Bonaparte, cousin of Emperor Napoleon III. Through Princess Mathilde, the sculptor Carpeaux gained entrée to the imperial court. His medallion of Madame Defly at seventy-three, although she was not at all famous, is so winning that it proved to be one of his most popular creations.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Madame Defly (1785–1875)Madame Defly (1785–1875)Madame Defly (1785–1875)Madame Defly (1785–1875)Madame Defly (1785–1875)

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.