Medaillon met portret van Antoine-Vincent Arnault 1833

This is a medallion portraying Antoine-Vincent Arnault, made by Achille Collas. Now, what is most fascinating about this particular object, is the process by which it was made. Collas was a specialist in mechanical reproduction. He didn’t carve the original design himself. Instead, he used a reducing machine, a device capable of transferring a three-dimensional design from a larger scale to a smaller one. The image was likely derived from a wax or plaster model, perhaps sculpted by a more conventional artist. Collas’ skill resided in translating this into a reduced, precise, and reproducible form. The resulting image has a cool, almost clinical quality. It’s as if Arnault is being presented as a specimen for study. What’s important here is not the expressive touch of a sculptor, but the accuracy of the mechanical process. This really blurs the line between art and industry, craftsmanship and mass production. Collas’ work invites us to think about the value we place on originality, and the labor and skill involved in different forms of making.