Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by EssNS (talk | contribs) at 19:27, 4 January 2025 (→Career: General edit to grammar.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Germain Bapst (20 December 1853 – 9 December 1921) was a French jeweler, art collector, and art historian based in France who partnered with Lucien Falize to form Bapst & Falize.

Early life and education

Germain Bapst was born on 20 December 1853 in Paris, France. Germain was a descendant of the prestigious Maison Bapst, a family revered for their contributions as jewelers to the French court in Paris. Originally from the Swabia region of Southern Germany, the Bapst family migrated to France, where they became well-known. Paul-Alfred Bapst, the father of Germain, served as the crown jeweler during the Second French Empire. Germain's brother, Étienne André Bapst, pursued a career that led him to become a French military general. In 1878, both men were elected as members of the Board of Directors of the "Society of the History of France" (French: Société de l'histoire de France).

Career

Following his father's death, in 1880, Bapst partnered with the Parisian jeweler Lucien Falize, a son of a goldsmith, to form Bapst & Falize The firm was known for creating jewelry, timepieces, enamelwork, and various other jeweled items, operating from their shops and workshops on rue d'Antin in Paris.

Germain Bapst became an avid writer, art collector, art critic, and an expert in gemstone history. In 1883, he published an inventory of Maria Josepha of Saxony, Dauphine of France titled "Inventaire de Marie-Josèphe de Saxe, dauphine de France". Bapst wrote "Studies on Tin in Antiquity and in the Middle Ages: Goldsmithing and Various Industries" (French: Etudes sur étain dans l antiquité et au moyen orfèvrerie et industries diverses) in 1884. He contributed to French art historian Eugène Müntz's "Les Artistes Célèbres" in 1886. In 1887, he notably published "Studies on French Goldsmithing in the 18th Century: The Germain, Goldsmiths-Sculptors of the King" (French: Etudes sur l'Orfèvrerie Française au XVIII siècle, Les Germain, orfèvres-scuplteurs du Roy). He dedicated the work to French bibliographer Jérôme Pichon. Bapst chronicled the legacy of the Germain family, detailing their rise through generations as they perfected the art of goldsmithing. The narrative follows the creation of a piece, from its design to its display in noble courts, and lastly, where the pieces were found at the time of its publication.

In 1887, Bapst was awarded the Prix Marcelin-Guérin, the Prix Thérouanne in 1889, the Prix Thiers in 1895, and the Legion of Honour. His firm exhibited at the 1889 Paris Exposition, displaying various pieces in the French jewelry section.

Germain's business partnership with Lucien Falize came to an end in 1892.

In 1889, he wrote the "History of the Crown Jewels of France" ((French: Histoire des joyaux de la couronne de France). Bapst also published a work in 1892 titled "French Goldsmithing at the Court of Portugal in the 18th century" (French: L'orfèvrerie française à la cour de Portugal au XVIIIe siècle).

Germain Bapst was a member of the Société des Antiquaires de France. He joined the Society for the History of Paris and the Ile de France (French: Société de l'histoire de Paris et de l'Île-de-France) and was later elected to the Board of Directors, where he served up to 1895.

Personal life

On 5 July 1888, he got married to Brazilian-born Enriqueta "Queta" de Laski and had a child named André Manuela Alexandre Joaquina Bapst. Upon their divorce, she later remarried to Jacques de Gunzburg then Prince Basil Narischkine.

Death

Germain Bapst died on 9 December 1921 in Paris, France. He was buried in a family burial plot at Père Lachaise Cemetery.

Gallery

• Grave of Bapst, Père Lachaise Cemetery

References

1. La grande encyclopédie: inventaire raisonné des sciences, des lettres et des arts par une Société de savants et de gens de lettres (p. 308). (1885). France: Société anonyme de la Grande encyclopédie.
2. Bapst, Maison – Antique Jewelry University. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.langantiques.com/university/mark/bapst-maison/?srsltid=AfmBOooQZPLl3wDlWxlW7Bhkl9AnWoewaKBQl46pdB_vPYR7UFlzruR9
3. Mascetti, D., Triossi, A. (1990). Earrings: from antiquity to the present (p. 194). United Kingdom: Thames and Hudson.
4. Balard, F., Straus, G. (2002). Geneviève Straus: biographie et correspondance avec Ludovic Halévy, 1855-1908. France: CNRS Eds..
5. Bulletin de la Société de l'histoire de France (p. 78). (1878). (n.p.): Société de l'histoire de France.
6. Arwas, V. (2002). Art nouveau : the French aesthetic (p. 355). London: Andreas Papadakis.
7. The Art Collector: A Journal Devoted to the Arts and the Crafts (p. 6). (1891). United States: A. Trumble.
8. Inventaire de Marie-Josèphe de Saxe, dauphine de France. Portrait de La Cour. Cartel de Gravelot. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6429261w.texteImage
9. Bulletin mensuel des récents publications françaises avec un appendice contenant l'indication des cartes géographiques et des livres anciens nouvellement entrés au Département des imprimés (p. 162). (1884). France: H. Champion.
10. Bibliographie de la France: 1886 (p. 346). (1886). France: (n.p.).
11. Bapst, G. (1887). Études sur l'orfèvrerie française au XVIIIe siècle: Les Germain, Orfèvres-Sculptures du Roy. France: Rouam.
12. L'illustration (p. 359). (1887). United States: J. Dubochet.
13. Gazette des beaux-arts. (1909). (n.p.): Gazette des beaux-arts.
14. Gere, C. (1984). The Art of the Jeweller: A Catalogue of the Hull Grundy Gift to the British Museum : Jewellery, Engraved Gems, and Goldsmiths' Work. Kiribati: Trustees of the British Museum.
15. Standard Books: An Annotated and Classified Guide to the Best Books in All Departments of Literature, with a Copious Index of Subjects and Biographical Notes of Authors ... (p. 272). (1915). United Kingdom: T. Nelson and Sons.
16. Bibliographie de la France: Annonces (p. 27). (1897). France: (n.p.).
17. Annuaire-bulletin de la Société de l'histoire de France. (1885). France: Librairie Renouard.
18. Bulletin de la Société de l'histoire de Paris et de l'Ile-de-France. (1895). France: (n.p.).
19. Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage, Privy Council, and Order of Preference (p. 530). (1963). United Kingdom: Burke's Peerage Limited.
20. BAPST, Germain - INHA - Institut national d'histoire de l'art. (2024, September 24). Retrieved from https://www.inha.fr/dictionnaire-critique-des-historiens-de-lart-actifs-en-france-de-la-revolution-a-la-premiere-guerre-mondiale/bapst-germain-inha/

External links

Media related to Germain Bapst at Wikimedia Commons

• 1853 births
• 1921 deaths
• People from Paris
• French jewellers
• 19th-century French people
• French art historians
• French art collectors
• Art collectors from Paris