AFTER JEAN-ANTOINE HOUDON, FRENCH, FIRST HALF 19TH CENTURY

Details

A PAIR OF BRONZE BUSTS OF A WEEPING AND A LAUGHING CHILD
AFTER JEAN-ANTOINE HOUDON, FRENCH, FIRST HALF 19TH CENTURY
Each on a circular gilt-bronze socle and square marble base; reddish brown patina; the bases probably associated; minor chips to bases
9 in. (23 cm.) high, each, overall (2)

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

The highly characterful pair of bronze busts of a laughing and a weeping child on offer here are based on the original terracotta models executed by the French sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828). In his entry on the original terracottas, Louis Réau noted that they were mentioned by Houdon in his list of autograph works and that they were also sold in the posthumous sale of his works in 1828 (Houdon - Sa vie et son Oeuvre, Paris, 1964, pl. XXIV, no. 55).

The charming sentimentality of Houdon's works, such as Le baiser donné et le baiser rendu and La Frileuse, meant that some of his most popular groups, like the present lot, were posthumously reproduced in bronze during the first half of the 19th century.

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