A Neoclassical Portrait of a Classicist: Houdon's Bust of Jean-Jacques Barthelemy

In 2016, the Art Center was fortunate to acquire an original plaster portrait by the famed French Enlightenment sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828). The subject, Abbe Jean-Jacques Barthelemy (1716-1795), an historian and numismatist, is today all but unknown. He was, however, one of the most famous men and popular authors of his era and worthy to stand with the likes of some of Houdon's other sitters such as Diderot, Voltaire and Washington. This focused exhibition illustrated the life of Barthelemy and also provided insight into Houdon's sculptural technique by bringing together the Vassar plaster with an unfinished marble version of the portrait that today is in the Smith College Art Museum.

This exhibition was organized by the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center. Support for the exhibition was provided by the Friends of the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center Exhibition Fund. There are works that appeared in this exhibition that were loans to the Loeb and therefore do not appear on this website.