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Lot Essay
Jean-Antoine Houdon showed a precocious talent for modelling as a child, and studied under Michel-Ange Slodtz before travelling to Rome as a 'pensionnaire' of the French Academy in 1764. He came to international attention with his marble figure of St. Bruno, about which Pope Clement XIV is said to have commented 'He would speak if the rule of his order did not prescribe silence.'.
Upon returning to Paris, Houdon was made a member of the Academy in 1769. He also furthered his international contacts by visiting the court of the Duke of Saxe-Gotha for whom he executed a number of portrait busts, as well as the famous standing figure of Diana, which eventually entered the collection of Catherine the Great of Russia. He had a long-standing relationship with the fledgling country of America, and executed marble busts of Benjamin Franklin, George Washington (examples of both of which are in the Metropolitan Museum, New York) and Jefferson (an example of which is in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston).
Houdon's portraits of the philosopher Voltaire are among his most famous images. At this time of his life, Voltaire was a senior statesman, and Houdon portrayed him in both full-length and bust forms, with perruque and without, with drapery around the shoulders and with bare chest, as seen here. The present bronze, depicting Voltaire in his simplest form, emphasises the modern, classicizing aspect of the portrait, while simultaneously focusing the viewer's attention on the subtle characterisation of the face. It compares favorably with the marble version of Voltaire, also in the Metropolitan Museum in New York, down to the distinctive square-shaped treatment of the pupils, which seems to have been a speciality of the artist's.
Although a number of versions of this bust exist, the majority of these are later casts of the 19th century. In his authoritative monograph on the artist, Louis Réau singles out two versions in bronze - one in the Louvre and the present example - as being superior to other known casts (loc. cit.).
The inscription on the gilt-metal plaque of the base are the concluding lines of a poem written by Voltaire in 1747, dedicated to Princess Ulrika of Prussia. It is roughly translated as 'The soul is a fire which must be fed And which will go out if it doesn't grow'.
Upon returning to Paris, Houdon was made a member of the Academy in 1769. He also furthered his international contacts by visiting the court of the Duke of Saxe-Gotha for whom he executed a number of portrait busts, as well as the famous standing figure of Diana, which eventually entered the collection of Catherine the Great of Russia. He had a long-standing relationship with the fledgling country of America, and executed marble busts of Benjamin Franklin, George Washington (examples of both of which are in the Metropolitan Museum, New York) and Jefferson (an example of which is in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston).
Houdon's portraits of the philosopher Voltaire are among his most famous images. At this time of his life, Voltaire was a senior statesman, and Houdon portrayed him in both full-length and bust forms, with perruque and without, with drapery around the shoulders and with bare chest, as seen here. The present bronze, depicting Voltaire in his simplest form, emphasises the modern, classicizing aspect of the portrait, while simultaneously focusing the viewer's attention on the subtle characterisation of the face. It compares favorably with the marble version of Voltaire, also in the Metropolitan Museum in New York, down to the distinctive square-shaped treatment of the pupils, which seems to have been a speciality of the artist's.
Although a number of versions of this bust exist, the majority of these are later casts of the 19th century. In his authoritative monograph on the artist, Louis Réau singles out two versions in bronze - one in the Louvre and the present example - as being superior to other known casts (loc. cit.).
The inscription on the gilt-metal plaque of the base are the concluding lines of a poem written by Voltaire in 1747, dedicated to Princess Ulrika of Prussia. It is roughly translated as 'The soul is a fire which must be fed And which will go out if it doesn't grow'.