Josef Benedikt Kuriger
They were shown at the art exhibition in Bern in 1804 and were recently studied by Adrian Christoph Suter[9] There are more anatomical models by him in the Narrenturm museum (Vienna).
[12] "Archives alsaciennes" mentions the terracotta bust of a young officer signed and dated 1773 in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs de Paris (Given by Charles-Jules Maciet, 1846-1911.
It could be the "Terracotta bust of a man in court costume with long hair tied back" (Couriguer, 1773) displayed at the "Marie-Antoinette and her time" exhibition at the galerie Sedelmeyer in 1894.
[13] The Musée des Arts Décoratifs has a terracotta bust matching this description (10773), and also has a terracotta-coloured wax medallion, which is not attributed but could be by Joseph-Anton (or Antoine) Couriguer.
According to the Catalogue raisonné de la collection Martin Le Roy[15] this is a bust of the actor Molé [fr], but the attribution to Couriguer is only a hypothesis.
They were used to make tin religious articles such as monstrances, candlesticks, crosses, flower stands, and holy figures for home altars and used by children to play "Pfärrerlis," a game in which they reenacted church services.
He was recommended at age 17 by Johann Karl von Hedlinger [de][23] to Joseph-Charles Roettiers, the royal goldsmith and medallist in Paris, where Couriguier trained for four years.
[25] Joseph Anton Couriguier also made a multicolored wax portrait depicting Lancelot Turpin de Crissé [fr] sitting at a table, c.1785 (the military man, not his painter son and grandson).
[26] The Swiss National Museum owns a coloured wax portrait of a gentleman in profile attributed to Joseph Anton (LM-70641), c. 1810, probably made in Einsiedeln : it could just as well be by Joseph-Benoist).
"[30] He published another advertisement in the same paper on 9 November 1801 : "Citizen Couriguer, sculptor, author of the portrait of the first consul, made according to nature and in medallions, both coloured natural and in different costumes, as well as in bronze, white and terracotta, has the honour of informing the public that he had previously specially entrusted citizen Talochon with the delivery; but that from this day on, it will also be possible to obtain them at his residence, Cour du Commerce, fauxbourg Saint-Germain, n° 19.
"[31] This is confirmed by Nouveaux mélanges d'archéologie: "However, I saw him again in 1820, with his hair all white, but still wielding his fine ébauchoirs, which knew how to execute charming portraits that were sometimes smaller than a fingernail.
[36] "Archives alsaciennes" as well as Stanislas Lami also attribute to Joseph-Anton a small bronze medallion of Mme Roland (Cabinet des Estampes, untraced).
