Jean-Antoine Houdon

Home > ... > Literature and the Arts > Art and Architecture > European Art, 1600 to the Present: Biographies > ...

Essential
reading

Compare
side-by-side

The Concise Oxford Dictionary ...

The Oxford Dictionary of Art

The Columbia Encyclopedia, ...

Jean-Antoine Houdon

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008 | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Jean-Antoine Houdon , 1741-1828, French neoclassical sculptor. He studied with Michel Ange Slodtz, Lemoyne , and Pigalle , took the Prix de Rome at the age of 20, and spent four years in Italy. Many of his later works reveal his study of classical form, e.g., the marble Diana (St. Petersburg) and The Bather (Metropolitan Mus. of Art, N.Y.C.). He quickly became famous in Paris for his extraordinarily accurate portrait sculptures and received commissions from all over the world. In 1785 he visited the United States briefly and stayed at Mt. Vernon while making studies for his statue of Washington (capitol, Richmond, Va.). Among his portrait busts are those of Jefferson, Franklin, Diderot, Rousseau, John Paul Jones, Napoleon, Josephine, Lafayette, Molière, Mirabeau, Buffon, and Prince Henry of Prussia, and he also sculpted a full-length statue of Voltaire (Comédie Française). He succeeded not only in creating sculptural documents of his time, but in developing a type of portraiture remarkable for its elegance, measured realism, and depiction of individuality. Houdon exerted a strong influence over European and American sculptors for several generations.

Bibliography: See A. L. Poulet, Jean-Antoine Houdon: Sculptor of the Enlightenment (2004)

Hide all research tools
Print this article Print all entries for this topic Cite this article Link to this article
Link to this article

CloseClose

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1E1-Houdon-J" title="Facts and informations about Jean-Antoine Houdon">Jean-Antoine Houdon</a>

Add this article to Del.icio.usBookmark this article on DiigoShare this article on FacebookSubmit this article to RedditGive this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon
Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

"Jean-Antoine Houdon." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Jul. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Jean-Antoine Houdon." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (July 10, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Houdon-J.html

"Jean-Antoine Houdon." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Retrieved July 10, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Houdon-J.html

Learn more about citation styles

Houdon, Jean-Antoine

The Oxford Dictionary of Art | 2004 | | © The Oxford Dictionary of Art 2004, originally published by Oxford University Press 2004. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Houdon, Jean-Antoine (b Versailles, 25 Mar. 1741; d Paris, 15 July 1828). French sculptor. A pupil of Michel-Ange Slodtz, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, and Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, he won the Prix de Rome in 1761. During his stay in Rome, 1764–8, he produced two works that made his reputation: a life-size male écorché figure (1767, Schlossmuseum, Gotha), casts of which were widely used in art academies, and the dignified, contemplative St Bruno (1767, S. Maria degli Angeli), a kind of classical riposte to Slodtz's more animated and Baroque statue of the saint in St Peter's. After returning to Paris in 1768, he was successful in the popular mythological idiom, becoming a member of the Academy in 1777 with his Morpheus (Louvre, Paris). His greatest strength, however, was with portraits, in which he showed a brilliant gift for catching lively gesture and expression. By the mid-1780s he was acknowledged as the leading portrait sculptor of Europe and in 1785 he visited America in connection with his statue of George Washington (marble original, 1788, in Virginia State Capitol, Richmond; bronze copy outside the NG, London). His other well-known works include several portraits of Voltaire (e.g. in the Comédie-Française, Paris, and V&A, London). During the French Revolution he narrowly escaped imprisonment and although he found favour again under Napoleon (a terracotta bust of him, 1806, is in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Dijon), he produced little of importance after the turn of the century. He last exhibited in 1814 and in his final years his mind was impaired following a stroke.

Hide all research tools
Print this article Print all entries for this topic Cite this article Link to this article
Link to this article

CloseClose

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1O2-HoudonJeanAntoine" title="Facts and informations about Jean-Antoine Houdon">Jean-Antoine Houdon</a>

Add this article to Del.icio.usBookmark this article on DiigoShare this article on FacebookSubmit this article to RedditGive this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon
Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

IAN CHILVERS. "Houdon, Jean-Antoine." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Jul. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

IAN CHILVERS. "Houdon, Jean-Antoine." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (July 10, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O2-HoudonJeanAntoine.html

IAN CHILVERS. "Houdon, Jean-Antoine." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Retrieved July 10, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O2-HoudonJeanAntoine.html

Learn more about citation styles

Houdon, Jean-Antoine

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists | 2003 | | © The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists 2003, originally published by Oxford University Press 2003. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Houdon, Jean-Antoine (1741–1828). French sculptor. A pupil of Michel-Ange Slodtz, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, and Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, he won the Prix de Rome in 1761. During his stay in Rome, 1764–8, he produced two works that made his reputation: a male écorché figure (1767, Schlossmuseum, Gotha), casts of which were widely used in art academies, and St Bruno (1767, S. Maria degli Angeli), executed in a direct and unpretentious classical style. After returning to Paris in 1768, he was successful in the popular mythological idiom, becoming a member of the Academy in 1777 with his Morpheus (Louvre, Paris). His greatest strength, however, was with portraits, in which he showed a brilliant gift for catching lively gesture and expression. By the mid-1780s he was acknowledged as the leading portrait sculptor of Europe and in 1785 he visited America in connection with his statue of George Washington (marble original, 1788, in Virginia State Capitol, Richmond; bronze copy outside the NG, London). His other well-known works include several portraits of Voltaire (e.g. in the Comédie-Française, Paris, and V&A, London). During the French Revolution he narrowly escaped imprisonment and although he found favour again under Napoleon (a terracotta bust of him, 1806, is in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Dijon), he produced little of importance after the turn of the century. He last exhibited in 1814 and in his final years his mind was impaired following a stroke.

Hide all research tools
Print this article Print all entries for this topic Cite this article Link to this article
Link to this article

CloseClose

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1O3-HoudonJeanAntoine" title="Facts and informations about Jean-Antoine Houdon">Jean-Antoine Houdon</a>

Add this article to Del.icio.usBookmark this article on DiigoShare this article on FacebookSubmit this article to RedditGive this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon
Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

IAN CHILVERS. "Houdon, Jean-Antoine." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Jul. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

IAN CHILVERS. "Houdon, Jean-Antoine." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (July 10, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O3-HoudonJeanAntoine.html

IAN CHILVERS. "Houdon, Jean-Antoine." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists. 2003. Retrieved July 10, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O3-HoudonJeanAntoine.html

Learn more about citation styles

Free newspaper and magazine articles

Free Article Houdon. (Current and Coming).(Jean-Antoine Houdon, sculpture, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.)
Magazine article from: The Magazine Antiques; 5/1/2003
Free Article Jean-Antoine Houdon: Sculptor of the Enlightenment.
Magazine article from: Apollo; 11/1/2003
Free Article European sculpture.(FARTHER afield)(Galerie Patrice Bellanger)(Directory)
Magazine article from: The Magazine Antiques; 2/1/2009

Related articles from newspapers, magazines, and more

Houdon. (Current and Coming).(Jean-Antoine Houdon, sculpture, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.)
Magazine article from: The Magazine Antiques; 5/1/2003; ; 643 words ; The French sculptor Jean Antoine Houdon, who Thomas Jefferson thought...traveling exhibition entitled Jean-Antoine Houdon: Sculptor of the Enlightenment...Jefferson [1743-1826], by Jean Antoine Houdon (1741-1828), 1789. Inscribed... Read more
Jean-Antoine Houdon: Sculptor of the Enlightenment.
Magazine article from: Apollo; 11/1/2003; ; 700+ words ; ...one kind or another has often infected Houdon scholarship; Charles Henry Hart and Edward...Reau, the tireless French interpreter of Houdon's work, to refer to the great Voltaire...the tiny gilt bronze reduction, made for Houdon by Thomire as a gift for the Empress Catherine... Read more
European sculpture.(FARTHER afield)(Galerie Patrice Bellanger)(Directory)
Magazine article from: The Magazine Antiques; 2/1/2009; ; 138 words ; Portrait busts by Jean-Antoine Houdon, bronze chenets by Eugene-Emmanuelle Viollet-le-Duc, terracotta models, works on paper, and even avant-garde pieces of the 1930s... Read more
Nickel gets new designs in '05.
Magazine article from: Financial Update; 4/1/2005; 216 words ; ...change to the face of the coin in 67 years. Jefferson's profile is based on a marble bust that French sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon finished in 1789. Jefferson took office as president in 1801, so later portraits were consulted to ensure the... Read more
Calendar.(Calendar)
Magazine article from: The Magazine Antiques; 11/1/2003; ; 700+ words ; ...Ceramics from the Collection of Dr. and Mrs. Leslie Dornfeld ; to April 4, 2004. LOS ANGELES J. Paul Getty Museum: Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828): Sculptor of the Enlightenment ; November 4 to January 25, 2004.* Transforming Tradition: Ancient... Read more
Calendar: the arts here and abroad--a compendium of exhibitions, symposiums, and lectures.(Calendar)
Magazine article from: The Magazine Antiques; 1/1/2004; ; 700+ words ; ...February 1. The Glory of the Gothic Page ; to March 7. Images in Light: Newly Acquired Stained Glass ; to April 4. Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828): Sculptor of the Enlightenment ; to January 25. * Los Angeles County Museum of Art: Erte/Opera &... Read more
Jefferson, Napoleon, and the Louisiana Purchase. (Museums Today).
Magazine article from: USA Today (Magazine); 7/1/2003; ; 700+ words ; ...Enlightenment, such as Francois-Marie Voltaire. Jefferson even bought a bust portrait of the philosopher from sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon to include in a gallery of heroes at his Monticello estate. Jefferson's role in the American Revolution was not... Read more
El INBA, sin presupuesto, impedido para adjudicarse obras del IPAB.(Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes; Instituto de Protección al Ahorro Bancario; México)(TT: INBA, without funds, is unable to acquire works from IPAB.)(TA: Beaux Arts National Institute; Bank Savings Protection Institute; Mexico)
Magazine article from: Proceso; 6/4/2000; ; 700+ words ; ...Miguel Castro Leñero y Rodolfo Nieto. El Museo de San Carlos dos, una de John Frederick Herring y la otra de Jean Antoine Houdon; al Rufino Tamayo correspondieron 52, mayoritariamente gráficas del pintor oaxaqueño; la lista incluía a Armando... Read more
The making of a president: scientists and artists build Washington.(INFO ZONE)
Magazine article from: WR News, Senior Edition (including Science Spin); 2/9/2007; 509 words ; ...the three wax figures? In 1785, Jean-Antoine Houdon created a life-size statue and...several historical sources point to Houdon's bust as a reliable representation of Washington at age 53. Houdon's bust was based on a life mask... Read more
Let's make a deal.(differences between fixed-price cultures and cultures where bargaining is the rule)(Brief Article)
Magazine article from: National Review; 9/29/1997; ; 700+ words ; ...seem immoral to WASPs and other stern types. When Jean-Antoine Houdon went to Mount Vernon to sculpt his famous statue of...a bad deal. The Father of his Country frowned, and Houdon knew: that was the face that had crossed the Delaware... Read more

Pictures from Google Image Search

Click to see an enlarged picture
Click to see an enlarged picture
Click to see an enlarged picture

For students and teachers!

Encyclopedia.com provides students and teachers facts, information, and biographies from verified, citable sources, including:

Encyclopedia.com provides students and teachers facts, information, and biographies from verified, citable sources, including: