Sculpture – Diana the Huntress, Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828) – Bronze

Jean – Antoine Houdon (1741-1828)

Jean-Antoine Houdon, born March 20, 1741 in Versailles, famous French sculptor, he is one of the most important statuaries of the XVIII th century, renowned for the realistic rendering of his works.

The fact that his father worked as a caretaker at the Royal School for Protected Students probably made his beginnings easier.
A student at the Royal Academy before the age of fifteen, a boarder at the School for Protected Students (1761-1764), then at the French Academy in Rome (1764-1768), approved by the Royal Academy in 1769, he was received as a member of the latter in 1777, upon presentation of his Morphée (Louvre).

If in 1793 he was among the first to spontaneously renounce his title and his academic privileges, he was elected member of the new Institute in 1795, and successfully presented his candidacy for the Order of the Legion of Honor in 1803.
Neither his two trips to Germany (1771 and 1773), nor his trip to the United States (1785), nor his marriage (1786), nor even the revolutionary turmoil disturbed his creative activity, the most visible manifestation of which was the regularity with which he exhibited at the Salons: from 1769 to 1795, he presented a fairly large number of sculptures every two years.

Very skilled in working marble, Houdon also has a great talent for shaping clay and plaster.
His work is characterized by realism and precision in the representation of bodies, and in particular busts where he excels and which he knows how to make very lively.
According to Grimm, "Houdon was perhaps the first sculptor who knew how to model eyes."

If it was necessary to prove that one can be a genius artist by leading a perfectly ordered existence, by fiercely defending his material interests and by showing an opportunism tempered with indifference towards the political events of his time, the life of Jean Antoine Houdon would suffice to prove it.

Jean – Antoine Houdon (1741-1828)

Jean – Antoine Houdon, born March 20, 1741 in Versailles, famous French sculptor, he is one of the most important statuaries of the 18th century, renowned for the realistic rendering of his works.

His father's position as concierge at the Royal School for Protected Students undoubtedly facilitated his early career.
A pupil at the Royal Academy before the age of fifteen, a boarder at the Royal School for Protected Students (1761-1764), then at the French Academy in Rome (1764-1768), admitted to the Royal Academy in 1769, he was accepted as a member in 1777, on presentation of his Morphée (Louvre).

In 1793, he was among the first to renounce his title and academic privileges, but was elected a member of the new Institute in 1795, and successfully applied for the Legion of Honor in 1803.
Neither his two trips to Germany (1771 and 1773), nor his trip to the United States (1785), nor his marriage (1786), nor even the turmoil of the revolution disrupted his creative activity, the most visible manifestation of which was the regularity with which he exhibited at the Salons: from 1769 to 1795, he presented a fairly large number of sculptures every two years.

Highly skilled in marble, Houdon also had a great talent for shaping clay and plaster.
His work is characterized by realism and precision in the representation of bodies, particularly busts, in which he excelled and which he knew how to bring to life.
According to Grimm, “Houdon was perhaps the first sculptor who knew how to model eyes”.

If it were necessary to prove that it is possible to be an artist of genius while leading a perfectly ordered life, bitterly defending his material interests and demonstrating an opportunism tempered with indifference to the political events of his time, Jean Antoine Houdon's life would be enough to prove it.