Denver Art Museum to show Jean-Antoine Houdon highlights from the Louvre

Written by Edward Rothstein Wednesday, 17 August 2011 22:03

Denver, CO – Houdon from the Louvre , an exhibition of premier portrait busts from French Enlightenment sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon, will open at the Denver Art Museum on October 11, 2008, and run through January 4, 2009. The show includes approximately 20 sculptural works from the renowned artist portraying intellectual and political leaders, including American founding fathers George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, as well as famous busts of Enlightenment thinkers Denis Diderot and Voltaire and Houdon’s own wife and children.

“Visitors to the Denver Art Museum have a great opportunity to reconnect with the history of this country through these rare works from Houdon, who was truly a master of his craft,” said Timothy Standring, Gates Foundation Curator of Painting and Sculpture. “These iconic portraits of some of the most significant leaders of nations and thought will give visitors a rare and in-depth look at one of the Louvre’s internationally treasured collections.”

Exhibition highlights include a bust of General George Washington, the nation’s first president. For the creation of the work, Houdon traveled to Mt. Vernon, Virginia, in 1785 to meet and study Washington in person. Houdon and three assistants spent two weeks in Virginia making a mold of Washington’s face and returned to France to complete the final bust. Family and contemporaries said the finished product was the best likeness of him ever created. The bust was actually the basis for the depiction of Washington on the U.S. quarter coin.

The Louvre possesses the largest and most important collection of works by Houdon, a major artist of the French Enlightenment. The busts on view in Houdon from the Louvre  are made from a variety of media, including marble, bronze, terracotta and plaster. Houdon was known for the lifelike quality of his sculpted portraits. The show also will examine the artist’s process, shedding light on his largely unknown sculptural methods.Houdon from the Louvre  will give Museum visitors the opportunity to interact with art in new ways.

A live demonstration area will show how sculptures are created, and even give the opportunity to engage in handson art making. In conjunction with the Museum’s fall exhibition program, the DAM’s Adult Programs offerings will include a studio class on drawing the human figure, inviting participants to sketch from works of art in the Houdon exhibition. The exhibition will be on view in the Museum’s Bonfils-Stanton Gallery.

Houdon was born in Versailles in 1741 and spent most of his life working in Paris. He was awarded thePrix de Rome for sculpture in 1761, and spent the next 4 years living and studying in Rome, where he was influenced by ancient and Renaissance art. Afterward, Houdon returned to France, where he ultimately became a professor at the famous École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He died in 1828.

Houdon from the Louvre  is presented in association with Louvre Atlanta, a collaboration between High Museum of Art, Atlanta and musée du Louvre, Paris. This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and Humanities. Accenture is the presenting partner for this exhibition. Generous support is provided by AXA Art. Additional funding is provided by Avanade Inc., the citizens who support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District and the generous donors to the Annual Leadership Campaign. Promotional support is provided by The Denver Post  and 5280 Magazine.

Denver Art Museum

The Denver Art Museum is located on 13th Avenue between Broadway and Bannock Streets in downtown Denver. Open Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Friday 10 a.m.-10 p.m., Sunday noon-5 p.m.; closed Mondays, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Admission for Colorado residents: $10 adults, $8 seniors and students. Admission for non-Colorado residents: $13 for adults, $10 for seniors and students, $5 for visitors aged six to eighteen, free for children under 6. General Museum admission is free the first Saturday of each month, thanks to Target and the citizens who support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). The Cultural Complex Garage is open; enter from 12th Avenue between Broadway and Bannock or check the DAM website for up-to-date parking information. For information in Spanish, call 720-913-0169. For more information, call 720-865-5000 or visit www.denverartmuseum.org .

Musée du Louvre

The musée du Louvre and its continual architectural transformation have dominated central Paris since the late 12th century. The history of its extraordinary structure and the museum that has occupied it since 1793 has created universal appeal for millions of visitors each year. The Louvre’s collection spans works of art up to 1848. With 35,000 art objects on display, eight curatorial departments – Near Eastern; Egyptian; Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities; Islamic Art; Sculptures; Decorative Arts; Paintings; and Prints and Drawings – are a necessity. Celebrated works in the collections include Da Vinci’s La Jaconde, best known as the Mona Lisa; Egyptian antiquities such as the Seated Scribe, the Jewels of Rameses II and the Code of Hammurabi; and Near Eastern antiquities such as the Winged Victory of Samothrace and the Venus de Milo. For more information about the musée du Louvre, please visit www.louvre.fr .