Louise Brongniart

Jean Antoine Houdon

1779, after a portrait of 1777 · Marble · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Among the numerous busts Houdon showed at the Salon of 1777 were a pair of Louise Brongniart and her brother Alexandre, both children of the distinguished Neoclassical architect Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart (1739–1813). The originals, now believed to be the terracottas in the Louvre, were among the sculptor's most popular creations and that of the five-year-old Louise, in particular, was reproduced well into the twentieth century. The Museum's marble, with a kerchief headdress elaborating the knotted scarf that binds Louise's hairdo in the original, is now thought to be one of numerous later variants. Also unique to this example is the ruffled fichu that emphasizes the little girl's simply truncated exposed chest.

Artist

Jean Antoine Houdon

Date

1779, after a portrait of 1777

Medium

Marble

Culture

French, Paris

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Bequest of Benjamin Altman, 1913