The portrait busts by the French sculptor Jean Antoine Houdon (1741-1828) are among the greatest of all time. His restrained yet graceful figures are classical with traces of the rococo style.

Jean Antoine Houdon was born on March 20, 1741, at Versailles, in the house of a rich nobleman for whom his father worked as caretaker; his mother's family were peasants and gardeners. In 1749 his father became caretaker of a newly established government art academy, where Houdon grew up. From the age of 15 he began to study under Michel Ange Slodtz, one of the finest sculptors in France. Later, when Houdon won a fellowship to the French Academy, his teachers included the painter Carle Vanloo and François Dandré Bardon, the historian of ancient Rome.

Years in Rome

In 1764 Houdon won a fellowship to the French Academy in Rome, where he studied until 1768. In this city with its...