International studio (35.1908)

The Plaquettes and Medals of Henry Nocq



“documents
the Cabinet des
Medailles—where
everything is
placed at the dis-
posal of the artist,
and where an en-
quirer discovered
the other day that
for some years past
there figured on
the pages of the
registre d’inscrip-
tion the names of
but two or three medal (obverse and reverse) by henry nocq
engravers who had
thought it worth
their while to come and learn their trade. seeing that the South Kensington Museum con-
M. Henry Nocq, who is not unknown to the tains several of his works, is not guilty of the sin
readers of The Studio, nor to the English public, of omission to which reference has just been made.
He has lived, so to speak, in the
“ Cabinet des Medailles,” and has dili-
gently studied the medals of the Middle
Ages in the Italian galleries and in the
collections of antiquities at Athens.
Profoundly respectful of the artists of
the past, M. Nocq nevertheless realises
the necessity of creating something
fresh, which, however, shall not attempt
to wipe out all the results of bygone
effort. M. Nocq, in a way, is for evolu-
tion, rather than for revolution. More-
over, he has often had to maintain his
views, pen in hand, and that with no
lack of ability. We are indebted to
him for a book—“Tendances Nou-
velles ” — wherein he has considered
the divers manifestations of modern
French decorative art, and for many
articles of various kinds. Even now
he is preparing an important work
on the Duviviers, the two admirable
medallists who flourished under Louis
XIV. and Louis XV.
Henry Nocq is an artist of admir-
able gifts ; he has exhibited regularly
at the Societe Nationale for a good
many years past both sculpture and
goldsmith’s work, at once very re-
strained and thoroughly modern. He
handles the water-colour with great
skill, his portfolios being full of sketches
brought back from his travels; but
bronze plaquette by henry nocq the medal and the plaquette are his
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