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European Sculpture and Decorative Arts: All

Work 117 of 421
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This information may change as the result of ongoing research.
* This information may change as the result of ongoing research.
Sabine Houdon
Portrait Bust
Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828)
French (Paris)
1788
White marble on gray marble base
Overall (without base): 10 13/16 x 8 1/2 x 6 in., approx. 20lb. (27.5 x 21.6 x 15.2 cm, approx. 9.0719kg) Height (with base): 13 1/2in. (44.5cm)
Bequest of Mary Stillman Harkness, 1950
50.145.66
Houdon's canonical portraits of the French philosophes (as well as of America's founding fathers) have contributed to his popularity in America. No less beloved are his depictions of children, of which the most beautiful may be the head of his own daughter Sabine. The delicate naturalistic folds of flesh at the intersection of Sabine's chest and arms are carved with a melting softness that perfectly captures the limpid fragility of infant skin. Her alert, unsentimentaliized features present a personality whose distinction transcends the category of children's portraits.