Bartholdi, Auguste

SCULPTOR, PAINTER (FRANCE)
BORN 2 Aug 1834, Colmar, Haut-Rhin - DIED 4 Oct 1904, Paris
BIRTH NAME Bartholdi, Frédéric Auguste
CAUSE OF DEATH tuberculosis
GRAVE LOCATION Paris: Cimetière du Montparnasse, 3 Boulevard Edgar Quinet (division 28)

Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi was born at Colmar as the son of Jean Charles Batholdi, a civil servant, and Augusta Charlotte Beysser, the daughter of the mayor of Ribeauvillé. His father died young and his motherm oved to Paris, where they lived at 30, rue des marchands which became Musée Bartholdi in 1922.

He attended the lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris and at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts he studied architecture and also painting under Ary Scheffer. After a trip to Egypt he started working as an architect in Colmar.

During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 he worked for the government. After the war he quickly became famous as a sculptor, both in Europe and the USA. Among his best known works are the "Lion of Belfort" (1880, in memory of the war of 1870) and his design for "Liberty Enlightening the World", better known as the Statue of Liberty (1886). It was said that the face of the statue was the face of his mother's and the body was the body of his mistress. He personally selected New York Harbor as the site for the statue.

In 1875 he married Jeanne-Emilie Baheux de Puysieux. It was a happy marriage but they had no children. He became a commandeur de la Légion d'honneur in 1882. The house in Colmar where he was born is now a museum.

Related persons
• met Boyer, Isabelle Eugénie
• made a sculpture of Champollion, Jean François
• cooperated with Eiffel, Gustave
• made a sculpture of Gambetta, Léon
• was pupil of Scheffer, Ary

Events
28/10/1886Dedication ceremony of the Statue of Liberty in New York. Ferdinand de Lesseps was the first to make a speech, followed by Senator William M. Evarts. President Cleveland spoke as well. Bartholdi, who had constructed the statue, declined to speak and the last speech was a long one by Chauncey M. Depew. [Lesseps, Ferdinand, vicomte de]

Images

The grave of F.A. Bartholdi at the Montparnasse cemetery, Paris.
Picture by Androom (27 Aug 2001)

 

The grave of F.A. Bartholdi at the Montparnasse cemetery, Paris.
Picture by Androom (27 Aug 2001)

 

Sources
• Culbertson, Judi & Tom Randall, Permanent Parisians, Robson Books, London, 1991
Winkler Prins Encyclopedie (editie 1909), 1909
Auguste Bartholdi - Wikipédia
Ferdinand de Lesseps - Wikipedia


Bartholomew, John

Published: 02 May 2009
Last update: 25 Apr 2022