Claudine Houdon
Artist
Jean-Antoine Houdon
(French, 1741–1828)
Dateabout 1791
Mediummarble
Dimensions33 × 27.9 × 17.8 cm (13 × 11 × 7 in.)
Height with Base: 43 cm (16 15/16 in.)
Height with Base: 43 cm (16 15/16 in.)
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LineStoddard Acquisition Fund
Terms
Object number1964.17
Label TextHoudon worked in the neo-classical style, a revival of the subjects and forms of Greek and Roman antiquity. In his early twenties, he spent four years in Italy studying ancient art. After returning to Paris, he became famous for portrait sculpture and received commissions from all over the world. His subjects ranged from French philosophers Diderot, Voltaire, and Rousseau to American patriots Washington, Jefferson, and Lafayette. These carefully crafted portraits capture not only the likeness but also the character of the sitters. In portraits of his wife and children, Houdon achieved an added measure of intimacy and warmth, as in this bust of his third daughter, Claudine, who was about a year old at the time.ProvenanceFormerly in the collection of Nils Erik Bergvall, Karlskrona, Sweden. Inherited from his mother who inherited it from her maternal grandfather, in whose collection it was registered in 1850. Duveen Brothers, Ltd., London purchased it from Jean Souffrice, 42, Rue due Bois de Boulogne, Neuilly-sur-Seine, 8th February, 1934. Jean Souffrice, Paris; Duveen Brothers, Ltd., London; Duveen Brothers, Inc., New York, New York; sold to the Worcester Art Museum, 1964.On View
On viewCollections
