DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21832#0016
Plaster Casts of the Works of Art
Pig. 3. Mcderic Mieuse-
ment (1831 -1905).
Museum of Compara-
tive Sculpture
- Room 2: The study
of Nature and the aban-
donment of hieratism.
"capa/mmf
creation of a unique copy. In the second room, dedicated to the "Study of Nature
and Abandonment of Hieratism" the gems of Gothic sculpture from Reims, Chartres,
or Amiens were also compared with works from Antiquity, gathered in the middle
of the gallery (fig. 3). A specific information chart accompanied the display of the
casts: yellow notices for French sculpture and grey notices for foreign sculpture.
The notices specified the part of the monument corresponding to the cast. Soon
completed by drawings and photographs of monuments, they underlined the origi-
nality of the collection: that of a museum of sculpture applied to architecture.
The original programme of the Museum of Comparative Sculpture was deeply modi-
fied throughout the years and the collections of casts grew to reach a prodigious
number. In 1883, two new rooms were opened. The catalogue published that year
mentions 358 casts.8 Four years later, rooms dedicated to the Renaissance period
and to Modern times invited the visitor to discover, among other masterpieces,
ornaments of the park of Versailles or the portal of the arsenal in Toulon by Pierre
Puget (1620 -1694).9
The cast collections were encouraged to increase in number on the occasion of the
World Fairs. In expectation of the World Fair of 1889, the second wing of the Tro-
cadero palace was conceded to the museum in 1887. With this new 200 meters long
wing, the museum doubled its surface. For the presentation of the works, the mem-
bers of the subcommittee chose to follow the same chronological succession, but
they extended it to the i9lh century. New monumental casts were specifically com-
missioned, such as the portals of the church of Saint-Fortunat in Charlieu or the
central part of the front of the church of Saint-Gilles in Saint Gilles du Gard.
A fundamental modification of the original programme was also engaged: casts
from Antiquity were gathered together in one place and consequently ceased to be
14
Pig. 3. Mcderic Mieuse-
ment (1831 -1905).
Museum of Compara-
tive Sculpture
- Room 2: The study
of Nature and the aban-
donment of hieratism.
"capa/mmf
creation of a unique copy. In the second room, dedicated to the "Study of Nature
and Abandonment of Hieratism" the gems of Gothic sculpture from Reims, Chartres,
or Amiens were also compared with works from Antiquity, gathered in the middle
of the gallery (fig. 3). A specific information chart accompanied the display of the
casts: yellow notices for French sculpture and grey notices for foreign sculpture.
The notices specified the part of the monument corresponding to the cast. Soon
completed by drawings and photographs of monuments, they underlined the origi-
nality of the collection: that of a museum of sculpture applied to architecture.
The original programme of the Museum of Comparative Sculpture was deeply modi-
fied throughout the years and the collections of casts grew to reach a prodigious
number. In 1883, two new rooms were opened. The catalogue published that year
mentions 358 casts.8 Four years later, rooms dedicated to the Renaissance period
and to Modern times invited the visitor to discover, among other masterpieces,
ornaments of the park of Versailles or the portal of the arsenal in Toulon by Pierre
Puget (1620 -1694).9
The cast collections were encouraged to increase in number on the occasion of the
World Fairs. In expectation of the World Fair of 1889, the second wing of the Tro-
cadero palace was conceded to the museum in 1887. With this new 200 meters long
wing, the museum doubled its surface. For the presentation of the works, the mem-
bers of the subcommittee chose to follow the same chronological succession, but
they extended it to the i9lh century. New monumental casts were specifically com-
missioned, such as the portals of the church of Saint-Fortunat in Charlieu or the
central part of the front of the church of Saint-Gilles in Saint Gilles du Gard.
A fundamental modification of the original programme was also engaged: casts
from Antiquity were gathered together in one place and consequently ceased to be
14