Book Description
Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1826) has long been recognized as the greatest European portrait sculptor of the late eighteenth century, flourishing during both the American and French Revolutions as well as during the Directoire and Empire in France. Whether sculpting a head of state, an intellectual, or a young child, Houdon had an uncanny ability to capture the essence of his subject with a characteristic pose or expression. Yet until now, Houdon's exquisite sculptures have never been the subject of a major exhibition.

This lavish exhibition catalogue, now available in paperback, is the definitive work on Houdon. With more than one hundred color plates and two hundred black and white halftones, Jean-Antoine Houdon: Sculptor of the Enlightenment illustrates every stage of the sculptor's fascinating career, from his early portrayals of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette to his stunning portraits of American patriots such as George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, John Paul Jones, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson. Indeed the images we hold dear of legendary Enlightenment figures like Diderot, Rousseau, d'Alembert, and Voltaire are based on works by Houdon. More than mere representations, these sculptures provide us fascinating, intimate glimpses into the very core of who these figures were. Houdon's genius animated even his less illustrious subjects, like his portraits of his family and friends, and filled his sculptures of children with delicacy and freshness. Accompanying the images of Houdon's masterworks are four insightful essays that discuss Houdon's views on art (based in part on a newly discovered manuscript written by the artist) as well as his prominence in the highly varied cultures of eighteenth-century France, Germany, and Russia.

From aristocrats to revolutionaries, actors to philosophers, Houdon's amazingly vivid portraits constitute the visual record of the Enlightenment and capture the true spirit of a remarkable age. Jean-Antoine Houdon finally gives these gorgeous works their due.




From the Inside Flap
Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1826) has long been recognized as the greatest European portrait sculptor of the late eighteenth century, flourishing during both the American and French Revolutions as well as during the Directoire and Empire in France. Whether sculpting a head of state, an intellectual, or a young child, Houdon had an uncanny ability to capture the essence of his subject with a characteristic pose or expression. Yet until now, Houdon's exquisite sculptures have never been the subject of a major exhibition.

This lavish exhibition catalogue will immediately take its rightful place as the definitive work on Houdon. With more than one hundred color plates and two hundred black and white halftones, Jean-Antoine Houdon: Sculptor of the Enlightenment illustrates every stage of the sculptor's fascinating career, from his early portrayals of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette to his stunning portraits of American patriots such as George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, John Paul Jones, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson. Indeed the images we hold dear of legendary Enlightenment figures like Diderot, Rousseau, d'Alembert, and Voltaire are based on works by Houdon. More than mere representations, these sculptures provide us fascinating, intimate glimpses into the very core of who these figures were. Houdon's genius animated even his less illustrious subjects, like his portraits of his family and friends, and filled his sculptures of children with delicacy and freshness. Accompanying the images of Houdon's masterworks are four insightful essays that discuss Houdon's views on art (based in part on a newly discovered manuscript written by the artist) as well as his prominence in the highly varied cultures of eighteenth-century France, Germany, and Russia.

From aristocrats to revolutionaries, actors to philosophers, Houdon's amazingly vivid portraits constitute the visual record of the Enlightenment and capture the true spirit of a remarkable age. Jean-Antoine Houdon finally gives these gorgeous works their due.



About the Author
Anne L. Poulet is the curator emerita of the department of European decorative arts and sculpture of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Guilhem Scherf is the chief curator of sculpture at the Musée du Louvre.

Ulrike D. Marthies is an independent art historian in Boston.

Christoph Frank is a scholar in residence at the Max Planck Institute in Rome.

Claude Vandalle is a curator of sculpture at the Musée de domaine national de Versailles.

Dean Walker is the Henry P. McIlhenny Senior Curator of European Decorative Arts and Sculpture at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Monique Barbier is an independent art historian in Paris.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828) has long been recognized as the greatest European portrait sculptor of the late eighteenth century. Whether sculpting a head of state or a young child, Houdon had an uncanny ability to capture the essence of his subject with a characteristic pose or expression. Yet until now, with the National Gallery of Art's presentation of his works, Houdon's exquisite sculptures have never been the subject of a major exhibition. This lavish exhibition catalog will immediately take its rightful place as the definitive work on Houdon.

With more than one hundred color plates and two hundred black and white halftones, Jean-Antoine Houdon: Sculptor of the Enlightenment illustrates every stage of the sculptor's fascinating career, from his stunning portraits of American patriots such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson to his striking portrayals of legendary Enlightenment figures like Diderot and Voltaire. More than mere representations, these sculptures provide us fascinating, intimate glimpses into the very core of who these individuals were. Houdon's genius animated even his less illustrious subjects, like his portraits of his family and friends, and filled his sculptures of children with delicacy and freshness. Accompanying the images of Houdon's masterworks are four insightful essays that discuss Houdon's views on art (based in part on a newly discovered manuscript written by the artist) as well as his prominence in the diverse cultures of eighteenth-century France, Germany, and Russia. From aristocrats to revolutionaries, actors to philosophers, Houdon's amazingly vivid portraits constitute the visual record of the Enlightenment and capture the true spiritof a remarkable age. Jean-Antoine Houdon finally gives these gorgeous works their due.

SYNOPSIS

This magisterial catalogue, published to accompany an exhibition held at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC in 2003 (then going to the Getty in 2003-2004 and Versailles in 2004) presents exhaustive entries for the 66 works presented, which are depicted in full-page color plates with details. The entries, which describe formal aspects of the work, discuss at length the commission and production of each. As Houdon created portraits of such celebrated Enlightenment figures as Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau, and Benjamin Franklin, the stories of the making of the busts, including details of who commissioned them, for what purpose, and their eventual destination, make fascinating reading. Each entry includes a list of related works. Distributed by the U. of Chicago Press. Annotation ©2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

FROM THE CRITICS

The New York Times