Sculpture - "Diane The Huntress" , Jean-antoine Houdon (1741-1828) - Bronze

Proof in bronze with brown patina , featuring the goddess “Diana the Huntress”, after the sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon .
In Roman mythology , “Diana” is the goddess of procreation , hunting , wilderness and the night .
Daughter of “Zeus” and “Leto”, twin sister of “Apollo”, she is associated with the Moon , as opposed to her brother who is associated with the Sun .
She is likened to the goddess "Artemis" in Greek mythology .
“Diana” is shown standing , holding her bow in one hand and her arrow in the other . 
Houdon justified his choice , which did not conform to the mores of the time , by saying that for him , the nudity of the gods , who have perfect bodies , was not immodest , unlike that of men .
Bronze , resting on an oval terrace in griotte red marble .
Early edition sculpture , signed “HOUDON” on the naturalistic terrace . 
Second half of the 19th century , circa 1870 . 
Very good condition and patina . 

The work is close to the neoclassical movement in its fidelity of the face to Antiquity .
The purity and simplicity of the overall effect is also classicist , as is the linear purity of the contours .
The serenity and sincerity of the whole still mark this return to Antiquity .

Height : 61 cm

Jean - Antoine Houdon (1741-1828)

Jean - Antoine Houdon , born March 20 , 1741 in Versailles , famous French sculptor , he is one of the most important statuaries of the 18th century , renowned for the realistic rendering of his works .

His father's position as concierge at the Royal School for Protected Students undoubtedly facilitated his early career .
A pupil at the Royal Academy before the age of fifteen , a boarder at the Royal School for Protected Students (1761-1764), then at the French Academy in Rome (1764-1768), admitted to the Royal Academy in 1769 , he was accepted as a member in 1777 , on presentation of his Morphée (Louvre) .

In 1793 , he was among the first to renounce his title and academic privileges , but was elected a member of the new Institut in 1795 , and successfully applied for the Legion of Honor in 1803 .
Neither his two trips to Germany (1771 and 1773) , nor his trip to the United States (1785) , nor his marriage (1786) , nor even the turmoil of the revolution disrupted his creative activity , the most visible manifestation of which was the regularity with which he exhibited at the Salons : from 1769 to 1795 , he presented a fairly large number of sculptures every two years .

Highly skilled in marble , Houdon also had a great talent for shaping clay and plaster .
His work is characterized by realism and precision in the representation of bodies , particularly busts , in which he excelled and which he knew how to bring to life .
According to Grimm , "Houdon was perhaps the first sculptor who knew how to model eyes". 

If it were necessary to prove that it is possible to be an artist of genius while leading a perfectly ordered life , bitterly defending his material interests and demonstrating an opportunism tempered with indifference to the political events of his time , Jean Antoine Houdon's life would be enough to prove it .

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