Historical and Commemorative
Medals
Collection of Benjamin Weiss
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ST. URBAIN FAMILY OF MEDALLISTS
Saint Urbain, Ferdinand de: Ferdinand de
Saint Urbain (1658-1738) was one of the best known medallists of the end of the
seventeenth and first four decades of the eighteenth century. He was born in
Nancy and studied drawing and painting, but on the invasion of Lorraine by
foreign armies, he left his native country and traveled through Germany and
Italy where he began to practice the art of die-engraving. Although largely
self-taught, he soon obtained official recognition as a medallist. In 1673 he
was appointed Mint Engraver at Bologna, and later went to Rome where Innocent XI
placed him at the head of the Papal coinage with the title of Chief Engraver and
Architect. After a stay of over thirty years in Italy, he returned to Nancy. In
1707 he was appointed Engraver to the Mint, where he executed most of the
coinage for Duke Leopold of Lorraine. Many of his finest medals were also
executed in Nancy, including his Series of the Dukes and Duchesses of Lorraine,
the Medallic Series of the Regency of the Duke of Orleans, and the Medallic
Series of Popes.
Saint Urbain, Claude Augustin de: Son of Ferdinand de Saint Urbain, he was born at Rome in 1703. He learned medal-engraving from his father. He was the Engraver to the Mint at Nancy from 1725 to 1737, at which time he settled in Vienna where he held the title of Director and Graveur en chef des Medailles. He engraved a number of medals including the Title Medal with the Arms of the Dukes of Lorraine. He also collaborated with his father in the Medallic series of Dukes and Duchesses of Lorraine. He died in Vienna in 1761. Saint Urbain, Marie Anne de: Daughter of Ferdinand de Saint Urbain and brother of Claude Augustin, Marie Anne was born at Nancy in 1711. She, like her father, became a medallist of note. She married Charles Benoît Vaultrin, king’s councillor in the bailiwick of Château-Salins. Marie Anne followed Duke Francis III of Lorraine to Vienna, where she died at an advanced age. Marie Anne de Saint Urbain is one of the few female medallists of this or, until relatively recently, any other period.
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