Resumen de Un instrument de propagande artistique: l'atelier de moulage du Louvre
A plastercast workshop was in activity in the Louvre from 1795 until 1927. During the 19th century, the successive directors (in succession artists like Barye, artisan moulders or curators) enlarged the collection of casts and developed the activity of the establishment. Despite competition from a number of private moulders and some public workshops (for instance, the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, the Union Centrale des Arts Décoratits or the Museum of Comparative sculpture), the Louvre workshop succeeded in monopolizing the market for the circulation of plastercasts in Paris and the provinces. Rediscovered archival documents enable to sketch out the history of this "artistic propaganda" in relation to institutions (museums, regional arts schools, universities) and individuals (including many artists). Furthermore, their analysis brings out the close correlation between the choice of models and their use. Important for the history of taste and visual references, this approach is a novel illustration of the attraction of plastercasts which have quite recently come into their own again.
