Jean-Antoine Houdon

(French, 1741–1828)

Jean-Antoine Houdon a French Neoclassical portrait sculptor, best known for his busts of contemporary political and cultural figures of the French Enlightenment. His work is characterized by its lively sense of realism and lack of idealism, capturing his subject’s transient expressions. Influenced by Classical masters such as Michelangelo, he often sculpted directly from life or by casting his model’s faces. He was born in Versailles, France on March 25, 1741, and after attending several French institutions of fine art during his youth—notably including the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture—Houdon found success after submitting his terra-cotta patinated plaster cast Morpheus to the Paris Salon of 1771. He had a lengthy and prolific career, sculpting such prominent figures as Napoleon Bonaparte, Voltaire, and even George Washington, for which he crossed the Atlantic and spent 12 days at Mount Vernon. Though he fell out of popularity and narrowly avoided imprisonment at the hands of the French Revolution for his bourgeois ties, his popularity later resumed and he was inducted into the Legion of Honor in 1804. He died in Paris, France on July 15, 1828, and is now interred in the famed Montparnasse Cemetery.

Related Categories

19th-Century European and British Art, Old Masters, Sculpture

Related Artists

Jean-Baptiste Pigalle

Jean-Antoine Houdon Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Jean-Antoine Houdon (550 results)
Voltaire, 1800–1825

After Jean-Antoine Houdon

Voltaire, 1800–1825

Sale Date: July 1, 2011

Auction Closed

Rousseau (+ Voltaire; pair), 1775–1825

After Jean-Antoine Houdon

Rousseau (+ Voltaire; pair), 1775–1825

Sale Date: June 15, 2011

Auction Closed

Voltaire (+ Rousseau; pair), 1800–1899

After Jean-Antoine Houdon

Voltaire (+ Rousseau; pair), 1800–1899

Sale Date: May 27, 2011

Auction Closed

Psyche reviving Cupid with a kiss

Jean-Antoine Houdon

Psyche reviving Cupid with a kiss

Sale Date: May 24, 2011

Auction Closed

Pauline Borghèse

After Jean-Antoine Houdon

Pauline Borghèse

Sale Date: May 18, 2011

Auction Closed

George Washington

After Jean-Antoine Houdon

George Washington

Sale Date: April 28, 2011

Auction Closed

Cérès ou L'Allégorie de l'été, 1785

Workshop of Jean-Antoine Houdon

Cérès ou L'Allégorie de l'été, 1785

Sale Date: April 6, 2011

Auction Closed

Portrait de Christoph-Willibald von Gluck

Studio of Jean-Antoine Houdon

Portrait de Christoph-Willibald von Gluck

Sale Date: March 30, 2011

Auction Closed

Le baiser donne, 1850–1899

After Jean-Antoine Houdon

Le baiser donne, 1850–1899

Sale Date: March 30, 2011

Auction Closed

Sans titre

Jean-Antoine Houdon

Sans titre

Sale Date: March 6, 2011

Auction Closed

Bust of Le Marquis de Lafayette, 1790

After Jean-Antoine Houdon

Bust of Le Marquis de Lafayette, 1790

Sale Date: January 18, 2011

Auction Closed

Schreitende Diana, Göttin der Jagd

Jean-Antoine Houdon

Schreitende Diana, Göttin der Jagd

Sale Date: December 4, 2010

Auction Closed

Portraibüste der Comtesse de Sabran, 1800–1899

After Jean-Antoine Houdon

Portraibüste der Comtesse de Sabran, 1800–1899

Sale Date: December 4, 2010

Auction Closed

Diane chasseresse

Jean-Antoine Houdon

Diane chasseresse

Sale Date: June 15, 2007

Auction Closed

Le baiser donne

After Jean-Antoine Houdon

Le baiser donne

Sale Date: December 2, 2010

Auction Closed

Elderly gentleman with cane

Jean-Antoine Houdon

Elderly gentleman with cane

Sale Date: January 1, 2011

Auction Closed

Sortie du bain

Jean-Antoine Houdon

Sortie du bain

Sale Date: January 18, 2011

Auction Closed

Voltaire

After Jean-Antoine Houdon

Voltaire

Sale Date: December 14, 2010

Auction Closed

Portrait de Christoph-Willibald von Gluck, 1800–1899

Studio of Jean-Antoine Houdon

Portrait de Christoph-Willibald von Gluck, 1800–1899

Sale Date: November 29, 2010

Auction Closed

Le baiser donné

Jean-Antoine Houdon

Le baiser donné

Sale Date: November 20, 2010

Auction Closed

Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier

After Jean-Antoine Houdon

Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier

Sale Date: November 14, 2010

Auction Closed

Buste de Diane chasseresse

Jean-Antoine Houdon

Buste de Diane chasseresse

Sale Date: November 10, 2008

Auction Closed

Diane chasseresse

Jean-Antoine Houdon

Diane chasseresse

Sale Date: January 15, 2009

Auction Closed

Le baiser donné

After Jean-Antoine Houdon

Le baiser donné

Sale Date: November 9, 2010

Auction Closed

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