Portrait Of Karl Marx, Patinated Plaster By Karl Longuet, Circa 1940

Karl-Jean Longuet (1904–1981) – Mask of Karl Marx – Patinated plaster – Circa 1940
40 × 40 × 30 cm
Plaster with brown patina
Signed Karl-Jean Longuet
Good overall condition, minor imperfections

Mask depicting Karl Marx (1818–1883), created by his great-grandson, the French sculptor Karl-Jean Longuet (1904–1981).

Patinated plaster depicting the German philosopher with his head tilted forward, eyes cast down, featuring a full head of hair and a particularly prominent mustache and beard. The face is rendered in broad volumes, with vigorous modeling and an irregular surface that retains traces of the sculptor’s work. The reverse side is hollow.

Karl-Jean Longuet dedicated several sculptures to his great-grandfather. As early as 1930, he presented a bust of Karl Marx at the Salon. In 1936, the Marx-Engels-Lenin Institute in Moscow commissioned him to create a new portrait, leading to various studies and versions in plaster and bronze.
The Reims Museum of Fine Arts holds a head of Karl Marx dated around 1936 (plaster, 32 × 36 × 39.5 cm, inv. 2012.5.2). His documentation also mentions a *Portrait of Karl Marx*, described as a plaster mask, dated around 1940 and held in a private collection.
This reference is of particular interest for our sculpture, whose form, dimensions, and sculptural treatment suggest a connection to Longuet’s explorations of the portrait of Marx. However, a definitive identification with the piece mentioned in the private collection has yet to be established.

The Centre Pompidou also holds a Bust of Karl Marx created in 1950, in patinated plaster, reflecting the sculptor’s enduring interest in this familiar and historic figure.

Born in Trier, Germany, Karl Marx was a philosopher, economist, historian, and political theorist. Settling in London in 1849, he developed an analysis of capitalism based in particular on the relationships between social classes, labor, and ownership of the means of production. Together with Friedrich Engels, he published *The Communist Manifesto* in 1848. His major work, *Capital*, the first volume of which appeared in 1867, exerted a considerable influence on economic, political, and social thought in the 19th and 20th centuries. He died in London in 1883.

Born in Paris, Karl-Jean Longuet is a French sculptor and the great-grandson of Karl Marx through his grandmother Jenny Longuet, the philosopher’s daughter and wife of the socialist activist Charles Longuet.
Trained in sculpture within the Parisian art scene, he developed a body of work gradually characterized by the simplification of forms and a pursuit of monumental volumes. His work evolved from expressive figuration toward a more abstract language, particularly after World War II.
He created portraits, monumental sculptures, and works intended for public spaces. His creations are now represented in several French public collections, notably at the Centre Pompidou and the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Reims.

Bibliography and related works:

• Reims Museum of Fine Arts, Karl Marx, ca. 1936, plaster, inv. 2012.5.2.
• Portrait of Karl Marx, plaster mask, ca. 1940, listed as part of a private collection in the Reims museum’s records.
• Centre Pompidou, Paris, Bust of Karl Marx, 1950, patinated plaster.
• Karl-Jean Longuet: Drawing and Sculpture, exhibition catalog, Reims, 2022.