Bust of a Woman

Jean Antoine Houdon

1794 or later · Terracotta and paint · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

This bust is a reduced-scale version of Houdon's Head of a Woman, also on view in this exhibtion. The inscription on its base commemorates the first abolition of slavery in the French colonies in 1794. The purchase of such reproductions from the artist’s workshop enabled patriots to signal their alignment with the abolitionist cause in the new French Republic. The sculpture’s theme, inscription, and commercial reproduction served as precedents for Carpeaux’s Why Born Enslaved!

Artist

Jean Antoine Houdon

Date

1794 or later

Medium

Terracotta and paint

Culture

French

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Bequest of Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 2019