Augustus Saint-GaudensAmerican, 1848–1907Jules Bastien-Lepage
Can I see it?
Yes, on view now
Where is “Jules Bastien-Lepage” now? Art Institute of Chicago, Gallery 161, Chicago. Yes, on view now. Checked September 29, 2026.
Chicago, United States
Closed· opens tomorrow at 11:00 AM
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the sculpture
Augustus Saint-Gaudens modeled a series of low-relief portraits of his artist friends in Paris, including this depiction of painter Jules Bastien-Lepage. The sculptor playfully featured a palette and brushes yet concealed most of the sitter’s hands—which are so important to an artist’s act of making. This shallow relief sculpture was made by the newly developed process of electrotyping. Electrically charged metals and metal alloys (here copper and bronze) adhered to a mold of the original clay sculpture at the particle level, creating a thin—yet faithful—copy. Saint-Gaudens is the earliest known American artist to invest in the technique, ordering electrotypes of two of his works from the Magee Furnace Company.
Art Institute of ChicagoCC BY 4.0
Details
- Accession number
- 1908.83
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Image: Art Institute of Chicago — CC0
