Monday Morning Museum: Jean-Antoine Houdon

Jean-Antoine Houdon

Jean-Antoine Houdon – Friday 20 March 1741 Versailles, France to Tuesday 15 July 1828 Paris, France

French Neoclassical Sculptor

Sabine Houdon, 1788

"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." – Metropolitan Museum of Art

Last Monday’s Artist – Charles Demuth
Next Monday’s Artist – Peter Paul Rubens

“Monday Morning Museum” logo created by Adrean Darce Brent