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Frédéric August Bartholdi Biography

Frédéric August Bartholdi

(Colmar, 1834-Paris, 1904) French sculptor.He studied architecture in his hometown and later traveled to Paris to study painting; there he came into contact with the painter Ary Scheffer and the sculptors Jean-François Soitoux and Antoine Étex.He soon concentrated his efforts on sculpture, the art for which he would be best known.His works are characterized by monumentality and by large-scale commemorative pieces of historical and patriotic events.He also made works in honor of well-known personalities of the time.

Inspired by the Lion of Lucerne , (1819-1821, Lucerne) monument erected in honor of the Swiss Guards of Louis XVI by Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844), Bartholdi erected the gigantic Lion of Belfort (1880, Belfort).Although it was created for the cemetery in which the soldiers lay, it was placed on top of a hill from where you can see the entire city.The lion, which rises imposingly to repel the enemy's attack, contrasts with the dejected figure of Thorvaldsen's lion.

Bartholdi's most famous creation is undoubtedly Liberty illuminating the world, c known by The Statue of Liberty (1875-1884 , New York Harbor), erected to commemorate French aid to the United States' independence process.

Gustave Eiffel collaborated in its construction, who designed the iron and aluminum structure that holds the thin sheets of copper.This work is characterized by the same formal simplification as the Lion of Belfort, but its approach is more classic and timeless.Later, Bartholdi adopted the neo-baroque style, as can be seen in La Saône and its tributaries (1887-1889, Lyon).Bartholdi's sculptures, which respond essentially to the fashion of the time, are characterized by their accentuated academic classicism.

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