Monaco · 250th birthday of François-Joseph Bosio

François Joseph Bosio was born in Monaco and died in Paris in 1845. He received his training in France under the sculptor Augustin Pajou, who belonged to French Classicism. After an extended stay in Italy, Bosio worked mainly in Paris. His career unfolded during a period of rapid political change: the French Revolution was followed by the Napoleonic Empire, the Bourbon Restoration and the July Monarchy.

Bosio received commissions under Napoleon Bonaparte and contributed to the sculptural decoration of the Vendôme Column and the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel. Even after the end of the Empire, he continued his work for the French state and the royal court. Under Louis XVIII (Ludwig XVIII.), he was appointed First Sculptor to the King. He was a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts and taught at the Paris École des Beaux-Arts. He was thus involved both in state representational art and in academic training.

His works include portrait busts, mythological figures and public monuments. He is known for his depiction of the young Henry IV (Heinrich IV.), showing the later French king as a child. For the Place des Victoires in Paris, Bosio created an equestrian statue of Louis XIV (Ludwig XIV.). The female figure hinted at in the coin design is the “Nymph Salmacis”, a Classical marble sculpture based on a figure from Greek mythology. The work is housed in the Louvre.

The selection of Bosio as the coin’s subject refers to his origins in Monaco. Although his professional activity was concentrated in France, he is one of the artists born in Monaco who pursued an institutional career outside the Principality. The round-numbered anniversary of his birth therefore gave Monaco an opportunity to commemorate this part of its art and cultural history on a national euro issue.