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What was Jean-Antoine Houdon known for?

What was Jean-Antoine Houdon known for?

Jean Antoine Houdon, the preeminent sculptor of the French Enlightenment, was primarily known for his portraiture, a specialization that brought him fame among his contemporaries and posterity alike, despite a lack of parallel achievement on the more monumental scale.

Who was the philosopher that was sculpted by Houdon numerous times?

Sculpture of Voltaire, made by Jean-Antoine Houdon, is considered the best work, exactly, conveying the image of the great philosopher. Shortly before his death, Voltaire agreed to pose for the sculptor. At that time he was eighty-four years old.

Who did Houdon sculpture?

His best known works of sculpture are studies of Voltaire, George Washington, and Napoleon. While not especially celebrated in his lifetime, he has since become the most famous French sculptor of the 18th-century.

Where is Jean-Antoine Houdon from?

Versailles, France
Jean-Antoine Houdon/Place of birth

Jean-Antoine Houdon, (born March 20, 1741, Versailles, France—died July 15, 1828, Paris), French sculptor whose religious and mythological works are definitive expressions of the 18th-century Rococo style of sculpture.

When did Jean Antoine Houdon make his portrait of Voltaire?

In March of 1778, in the course of recording Voltaire’s features for the revered writer’s portrait bust (see 1972.61), Houdon seems to have made a quick sketch of the old man informally seated in the sculptor’s studio.

Who was Jean Antoine Houdon and what did he do?

Jean Antoine Houdon, the preeminent sculptor of the French Enlightenment, was primarily known for his portraiture, a specialization that brought him fame among his contemporaries and posterity alike, despite a lack of parallel achievement on the more monumental scale. The Enlightenment virtues of truth to

When was Jean Antoine Houdon’s portrait of Diderot commissioned?

Houdon’s portrait of Diderot ( 1974.291 ), commissioned by the former Russian ambassador Dmitrii Alekseevich Golitsyn, and shown in terracotta at the salon of 1771, was a critical milestone for the young sculptor.

How did Voltaire sit in the maquette?

The initial maquette is more passive, less alert than the large versions; it shows the bald-pated philosopher seated upright with left hand resting inertly on the chair arm and both feet aligned.