Henry Nocq

Henry Nocq was a medalist, sculptor, goldsmith, painter, engraver, ornamental artist, draftsman, and author of textbooks. He was a student of French sculptor and medalist Henri Michel Chapu (1833-1891). and was a member of the Société des artistes français and the Société nationale des Beaux Arts from 1887. In 1894 he was employed as an editorial secretary at the Journal des artistes. In 1896, to break down the boundary between high and applied art, he and others founded the artist group “Les Cinq,” later known as “L’Art dans Tout”. In 1914, he received the Grand Prix de Rome.

Nocq mainly produced medals, mainly in bronze. The medals with the busts of the French presidents Raymond Poincaré (1860-1934) and Georges Clémenceau (1841-1929) on the front and a quadriga guided by the allegory of Victory on the reverse as well as another one with the half-figures of Clémenceau and marshal Ferdinand Foch (1851-1929) were dedicated to the end of the World War I. Also in 1918, Nocq made a medal honoring Anatole France (1844-1924), winner of the 1921 Nobel Prize for Literature. On public commission, he designed other medals showing high-ranking military officers. Unlike the public commissions, his affiliation with Art Nouveau is freely expressed in creative decorative arts designs and products.

Nocq wrote several books on goldsmithing, including “Le Poinçon de Paris”, still considered a standard work today. In 1899, he was promoted to Officer of the Academy and in 1909 was made a Knight of the Legion of Honor. In 1897, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901) painted a full-length portrait of his patron Nocq.