Sculpture - Bust Of Diane Huntress , Jean - Antoine Houdon (1741-1828) - Marble

Important bust in white Carrara marble , representing the goddess "Diane the Huntress" , after Jean Antoine Houdon .
In Roman mythology , "Diane" is the goddess of the hunt , wilderness , and night .
Daughter of Zeus and Leto , twin sister of Apollo , she is associated with the Moon , as opposed to her brother who is associated with the Sun .
She is likened to Artemis in Greek mythology .
"Diane" appears with her face turned , dressed in a drape and crowned with a crescent moon on her head .
Bust signed "HOUDON", on the side .
Circular rotating pedestal in white marble .
Ancient sculpture , period second part of the 19th century .
Very good state of conservation .

Dimensions : 61 cm x 40 cm

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 Institut 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 .