612. Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828),

Seated Sculpture of Voltaire, 1781.

Marble, 133.5 x 78.7 x 103.1 cm.

Comédie-Française, Paris.

 

 

This Seated Sculpture of Voltaire by Jean-Antoine Houdon triumphed at the Salon of 1781: it is an audacious work, without flattery. The statue had been commissioned by Madame Denis, the niece of Voltaire, who gave one of the marble versions to the Comédie-Française. Through the subtlety of his chisel, Houdon highlights the merest smile and the finest wrinkle, transmitting the psychological depth of his model. A sarcastic smile and sparkling eyes animate the face of the old philosopher of Ferney, who sat for the sculptor during a visit to Paris in 1778. Writers, artists and people of note paraded through Houdon’s studio: Diderot, Rousseau, Gluck or Turgot, the artist excelling in the sculpted portrait. Going beyond the Classicism of the time, the works of the ‘Sculptor of the Age of Enlightenment’ show his quest for a realism specific to his time.