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Louise Brongniart

1779, after a portrait of 1777
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 552
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.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Louise Brongniart
  • Artist: Jean Antoine Houdon (French, Versailles 1741–1828 Paris)
  • Date: 1779, after a portrait of 1777
  • Culture: French, Paris
  • Medium: Marble
  • Dimensions: Height: 20 in. (50.8 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Benjamin Altman, 1913
  • Object Number: 14.40.670
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Joel Barlow (1754–1812), Jean Antoine Houdon French, Plaster, French
Joel Barlow (1754–1812)
Jean Antoine Houdon
18th century
Georges-Louis-Leclerc, comte de Buffon (1707–1788), Jean Antoine Houdon French, Tinted stucco, French
Georges-Louis-Leclerc, comte de Buffon (1707–1788)
Jean Antoine Houdon
1782
George Washington (1732–1799), Jean Antoine Houdon French, Bronze, dark brown patina, French
George Washington (1732–1799)
Multiple artists/makers
19th–early 20th century, cast after a model of 1788
Woman, sometimes identified as the Princesse de Lamballe, Jean Antoine Houdon French, Plaster, French
Woman, sometimes identified as the Princesse de Lamballe
Jean Antoine Houdon
19th century
Robert Fulton (1765–1815), Jean Antoine Houdon French, Bronze, French
Robert Fulton (1765–1815)
Jean Antoine Houdon
Jno. Williams, Inc. Bronze Foundry, New York
early 20th century cast, after model of 1803

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