WORKSHOP OF JEAN-ANTOINE HOUDON (1741-1828), CIRCA 1780-1820

Details

A BRONZE MODEL OF VOLTAIRE SEATED
WORKSHOP OF JEAN-ANTOINE HOUDON (1741-1828), CIRCA 1780-1820
Depicted seated in a chair, wearing a heavy robe and looking slightly to dexter; on an integral rectangular bronze plinth; medium brown patina and lighter high points
13¼ in. (33.7 cm.) high

Literature

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
L. Réau, Houdon - son vie et son oeuvre, Paris, 1964, III and IV, no. 35, p. 19, pls. XXX and XXXI.
Washington, Los Angeles and Versailles, National Gallery of Art, J. Paul Getty Museum and the Musée et Domaine de Versailles, Jean-Antoine Houdon - Sculptor of the Enlightenment, 4 May 2003 - 25 January 2004.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

Houdon's depiction of the celebrated philospher François-Marie Arouet, called Voltaire, are among his most iconic images. His bust, executed in marble and placed on view in the artist's studio in March 1778 was viewed by 'all of Paris', and the full-size seated figure was completed for Voltaire's niece, Mme Denis, by 1780 (Jean-Antoine Houdon - Sculptor of the Enlightenment, op. cit., p. 349). Interestingly, the full-size model was actually preceded by a small gilt-bronze version made for the Russian Empress Catherine the Great, one of the philosopher's most devoted correspondents and admirers. The present cast is particularly finely finished.

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