Cleveland Museum of Art

Medal Presented to Loïe Fuller by the French Government: Orpheus at the Entrance to the Underworld (obverse)

Marie Alexandre Lucien Coudray

Medium

bronze

Culture

France, 19th century

Department

Decorative Art and Design

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

A temporary theater on the grounds of the 1900 Exposition Universelle was devoted to Loïe Fuller, who by that time had become a cultural icon. The theater’s interior was hung with draperies onto which a kaleidoscope of colors shone from stained glass windows and hidden lamps, evoking the diaphanous veils of her costumes. In the foyer was a gallery of paintings, drawings, and sculpture all depicting the dancer. Coudray’s medal, Orpheus at the Entrance to the Underworld, was struck to commemorate the world’s fair. This example of the famous Art Nouveau medal was engraved as a gift to Loïe Fuller.

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