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.

Jean-Antoine Houdon Artworks

Jean-Antoine Houdon (550 results)
Diderot

Jean-Antoine Houdon

Diderot

Sale Date: June 18, 2008

Auction Closed

Buste de Joseph-Alphonse-Omer, Comte de...

Studio of Jean-Antoine Houdon

Buste de Joseph-Alphonse-Omer, Comte de...

Sale Date: June 18, 2008

Auction Closed

Diane chasseresse

After Jean-Antoine Houdon

Diane chasseresse

Sale Date: May 6, 2008

Auction Closed

Bust of George Washington

After Jean-Antoine Houdon

Bust of George Washington

Sale Date: April 14, 2008

Auction Closed

La Comtesse de Sabran

After Jean-Antoine Houdon

La Comtesse de Sabran

Sale Date: April 15, 2008

Auction Closed

La frileuse

Jean-Antoine Houdon

La frileuse

Sale Date: March 30, 2008

Auction Closed

Laughing and crying child (pair), 1800–1825

Jean-Antoine Houdon

Laughing and crying child (pair), 1800–1825

Sale Date: December 7, 1989

Auction Closed

Bust of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1778

Workshop of Jean-Antoine Houdon

Bust of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1778

Sale Date: January 24, 2008

Auction Closed

La comtesse de Sabran

After Jean-Antoine Houdon

La comtesse de Sabran

Sale Date: November 11, 2007

Auction Closed

Tourville

After Jean-Antoine Houdon

Tourville

Sale Date: October 16, 2007

Auction Closed

Diana mit dem Bogen, 1800

Jean-Antoine Houdon

Diana mit dem Bogen, 1800

Sale Date: September 22, 2007

Auction Closed

Buste de Louis XVI

Jean-Antoine Houdon

Buste de Louis XVI

Sale Date: November 30, 2005

Auction Closed

Cupid

After Jean-Antoine Houdon

Cupid

Sale Date: April 27, 2007

Auction Closed

Portrait d'Adélaïde Anne Lignereux à l'age..., 1787

Jean-Antoine Houdon

Portrait d'Adélaïde Anne Lignereux à l'age..., 1787

Sale Date: March 28, 2007

Auction Closed

Buste de femme

Jean-Antoine Houdon

Buste de femme

Sale Date: March 10, 2007

Auction Closed

Buste de Buffon

After Jean-Antoine Houdon

Buste de Buffon

Sale Date: December 22, 2006

Auction Closed

Buste de Louis XVI, 1800–1833

After Jean-Antoine Houdon

Buste de Louis XVI, 1800–1833

Sale Date: December 18, 2006

Auction Closed

Bust of John Paul Jones

After Jean-Antoine Houdon

Bust of John Paul Jones

Sale Date: August 5, 2006

Auction Closed

Büste einer jungen Frau mit lockigem Haar, 1800

Attributed to Jean-Antoine Houdon

Büste einer jungen Frau mit lockigem Haar, 1800

Sale Date: September 20, 2006

Auction Closed

Louise Brongniart âgée de sept ans

Jean-Antoine Houdon

Louise Brongniart âgée de sept ans

Sale Date: June 30, 2006

Auction Closed

Bust of Robert Fulton, 1803

Jean-Antoine Houdon

Bust of Robert Fulton, 1803

Sale Date: May 24, 2006

Auction Closed

Buste de femme, 1800–1899

After Jean-Antoine Houdon

Buste de femme, 1800–1899

Sale Date: April 11, 2006

Auction Closed

Buste de Diane, 1800–1899

After Jean-Antoine Houdon

Buste de Diane, 1800–1899

Sale Date: April 11, 2006

Auction Closed

John Paul Jones

After Jean-Antoine Houdon

John Paul Jones

Sale Date: February 25, 2006

Auction Closed