Charles de COUBERTIN (Paris, 1822–1908)

Private collection, France

The father of Pierre de Coubertin (1863–1937), the man who revived the Olympic Games in their modern form, Charles chose to pursue a career in the arts. A pupil of François-Edouard Picot (1786–1868), he exhibited regularly at the Salon. It is amusing to mention the family legend attributing the discovery of the Laocoön group in Rome in 1506 to an ancestor of the family. This account, based on the writings of Winckelmann, recounts the find by Felice de Fredi (the full name of the Coubertins being ‘Frédy de Coubertin’) in the substructures of the Palace of Titus. Enraptured, the then Cardinal of Saint-Pierre-aux-Liens is said to have offered him nearly six hundred gold écus. Refusing this, Felice is said to have preferred to present this ancient marvel to Pope Julius II. In 1846, Charles thus presented a painting on this theme at the Salon.