Madame du Barry (1746–1793)

Sèvres Manufactory|Augustin Pajou

1772 · Bust: soft-paste biscuit porcelain; pedestal: glazed porcelain, enameled and gilt · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Sèvres employed many of the most famous French sculptors of the day to produce terracotta or plaster models that could be reproduced in biscuit porcelain. Many of these models were reductions of large-scale sculptures, usually in marble, that had met with critical success. In this instance, the sculptor Pajou created an entirely new model rather than copy the lifesize terracotta bust of Madame Du Barry he had executed two years before.

Artist

Sèvres Manufactory|Augustin Pajou

Date

1772

Medium

Bust: soft-paste biscuit porcelain; pedestal: glazed porcelain, enameled and gilt

Culture

French, Sèvres

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Gift of Ann Payne Blumenthal, 1943