JEAN-ANTOINE HOUDON

Jean-Antoine Houdon is considered the greatest of all French neoclassical sculptors, renowned for his exquisite portrait busts and statues that captured the essence of his subjects with remarkable realism and emotional depth. At the time of the sculptor’s birth in 1741, Houdon’s father was a member of the Comte de Lamotte’s household. In 1749, when Houdon was eight years old, the Comte’s residence was leased to the French Crown to serve as an Ecole des Élèves Protégés, a school for the most talented pupils of the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture. As Houdon’s father retained his post in the house, the young Houdon was surrounded by budding artists of both painting and sculpture, which was a catalyst for Houdon’s interest in art. Working diligently, his reputation continued to grow and by 1764 he had won the prestigious Prix de Rome, providing him with the opportunity to embark on a journey to the Eternal City to study at the French Academy.

Upon returning to Paris in 1768, Houdon came to the fore as one of the most promising sculptors of the age. Reflecting his elevated status as a membre agréé of the Académie in 1769, he took up residence in one of the workshops in the Faubourg du Roule in March 1772. Regularly exhibiting at the Salon, Houdon cultivated the patronage of the highest echelons of society, as demonstrated by his portraits of the Marquis de Miromesnil, of the acclaimed musician Christoph Willibald Gluck, and of fashionable women such as Madame de la Houze, the Comtesse du Cayla, along with Madame Adélaïde and Madame Victoire, the two daughters of King Louis XV.

In 1777, Houdon achieved full recognition as an Academician and forged a connection with the Masonic Lodge of the Nine Sisters, a prominent gathering place for artists and intellectuals. This affiliation brought him into contact with Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Their acquaintance deepened, leading to Houdon accompanying Franklin to America in 1785. It was during this sojourn that Houdon created his iconic portrait of Franklin.

In the New World, Houdon also became acquainted with Thomas Jefferson, another founding father and one of the authors of the Declaration of Independence. Notably, it was this encounter that led to the creation of Houdon’s monument to George Washington, of which several versions survive, with the original housed in the State Capitol of Richmond, Virginia.

The sculptor returned to Paris the following year, in 1786, where his career continued to flourish. The turmoil of the Revolution, which broke out in 1789, temporarily disrupted the workings of the Académie but, undeterred, Houdon sought new patrons during this turbulent period, including the financier Jacques Necker and the astronomer and politician Jean-Sylvain Bailly – two exponents of the more moderate and initially successful Revolutionary faction – both of whom he sculpted in 1790.

With the return of stability, Houdon continued to be recognised as one of the most important sculptors of his era, and he died in Paris at the end of a successful career in 1828. 

Although Houdon is more recognised for his insightful portraits, it is also recognised that sculptures of animals formed a small sub-category within his oeuvre. A terracotta model of a spaniel-type dog can be seen to the left of Louis-Léopold Boilly’s painting of Houdon’s workshop of circa 1804. Furthermore, Houdon was known to have exhibited ‘Several Animals in Marble’ in the Salon of 1777. A marble group of an eagle atop a deer kid exists in an aristocratic collection in France. Additionally, the sale of works directly from the sculptor’s studio both during his lifetime (8 October 1795) and after his death (15-17 December 1828), included various animals beyond dogs, such as birds and deer. 

In 1904 Georges Giacometti conducted a meticulous study of the present greyhound sculpture, resulting in an almost hundred-page publication in which he confidently attributed the work to Houdon (Giacometti, op. cit.). Giacometti’s detailed analysis of the sculptor’s technique, combined with an examination of the terracotta’s exceptional quality and artistic characteristics, provided compelling evidence supporting the exclusive attribution of this sculpture to Houdon. As a further key piece of evidence Giacometti pointed out the presence of a greyhound in Boilly’s painting of Houdon’s studio. The painting provides an intimate portrayal of the sculptor’s life, prominently featuring his wife and three daughters, along with an obedient greyhound situated in the lower right corner. Giacometti astutely observed that the dog likely belonged to Houdon and his family rather than Laplace, as it is depicted without a collar (ibid., p. 29). According to Giacometti, if the dog belonged to Laplace and had accompanied him to Houdon’s studio, it would have been portrayed wearing a collar – a detail that Boilly would not have overlooked. Giacometti concluded that the greyhound sculpture in question is, in fact, a reduced model of Houdon’s own dog. 

Indeed, Houdon’s renown for capturing accurate physiognomy in his portraits of contemporaries, friends, and family members adds weight to the notion that the present work, an exceptionally detailed model of a greyhound, could be a meticulous representation of a dog with which Houdon had a personal connection. The detailed craftsmanship of the sculpture may reflect not only Houdon’s skill in portraying physical attributes but also his ability to convey a sense of familiarity and personal connection with the subject, potentially making it a poignant representation of a cherished companion. 

Since Giacometti’s publication, the work has been positively identified as a sculpture by Houdon, most notably by Helen Clay Frick (1888-1984), daughter of the industrialist and art collector Henry Clay Frick (1849- 1919). Helen Clay Frick developed a personal and enduring interest in Houdon. Motivated by her passion for the artist, she dedicated over fifty years to researching Houdon’s works, with the ambitious goal of compiling a catalogue raisonne ́. Although this comprehensive catalogue was never completed, Frick included the present work in her extensive research on Houdon. Her commitment to documenting and understanding Houdon›s oeuvre is evident through the inclusion of charming early twentieth-century photographs of the sculpture in her research material. 

The present work, with its elongated, slender neck and well-defined musculature, serves as a testament to Houdon’s characteristic attention to detail. In capturing the essence of nature, Houdon displays an impeccable ability to merge physical reality seamlessly with the spirit of the subject.