The Statue of Liberty in Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi's Studio, Paris
Paul-Joseph-Victor DARGAUD
(French, active 1873-1904)
The Statue of Liberty in Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi's Studio, Paris
Date1884
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensionsoverall: 18 3/8 x 21 3/4 in. (46.7 x 55.2 cm)
ClassificationPAINTINGS
Credit LineSBMA, Museum purchase, 19th Century Endowment Funds and Suzette Davidson Art Acquisition Endowment
Object number2001.36.2
Subject(s)
- interiors
- architecture
- buildings
- monuments
- female figure, allegorical
Collection
- 19th century French
On View
Not on viewCollections
Label TextDargaud, a specialist in topographically accurate views of the fashionable boulevards of Paris, is little known today, although he exhibited at the Salon from 1873 until his death. This painting, one of his best-known works, represents the fabrication of the Statue of Liberty. Its sculptor, Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, aspired to rival the sublime effect of such monuments as the Pyramids and the Sphinx. Because of its scale, Bartholdi had to construct Liberty in sections, as shown in this painting of the statue’s left arm. Although the right arm of the statue was shipped to the United States in 1876 in time for the centennial, the entire statue was not completed until 1883.
