Workshop of Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828) French, Paris, 1787

Overall the condition of the terracotta is very good. There is some minor wear and dirt to the surface consistent with age. There are stable hairline fissures visible on the surface. There is a small chip to the drapery near the truncation on the proper left side of Washington's chest.
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Following the American War of Independence and the peace of 1783, Congress and the Virginia Legislature wished to honour George Washington for his important contribution. They voted to erect a life-size equestrian monument and Thomas Jefferson wrote from Paris recommending Houdon for the commission: 'I find that a Monsieur Houdon of this place, possesses the reputation of being the first statuary in the world.' Houdon was thrilled to accept the opportunity – modelling an equestrian monument had been a long-term ambition for the sculptor.

A painted portrait of Washington was sent to Paris for Houdon to work from, but Houdon considered this the most important commission of his career and instead volunteered to travel to America to meet his subject and complete studies directly from life. The sculptor arrived in Philadelphia on 14^th September 1785. He spent 17 days at Mount Vernon carrying out extensive studies of his subject including measurements taken with callipers and a life mask which he brought back with him to Paris before Christmas of the same year. Back in Paris, with a typical concern for liveliness, Houdon engaged Gouveneur Morris to pose in place of Washington, a role which prompted the model to remark that 'the humble role of artist's model is rather tiring.' Working from the live model and his studies Houdon produced a bust of Washington which he displayed in his studio from December 1786 and exhibited at the Salon of 1787.

Houdon went on to produce a number of variants of the bust showing Washington bare-chested à l'antique, with a simple shirt and scarf, and with a tunic and toga as in the present example. Other examples of this variant include a marble at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, a plaster at the National Gallery of Art, Washington and a terracotta in the collection of the Louvre Museum. Although none of these are dated, Anne Poulet has proposed that they were created in the 1780s. For the monument Washington preferred to be portrayed in contemporary dress. The project for an equestrian portrait was finally abandoned in favour of the less expensive marble standing figure of Washington erected in the Capitol Building, Richmond, Virginia in 1792.

The warm tones of the present terracotta, with its subtle and delicate surface, make it particularly life-like. Inspired by the portraits of Bernini, Houdon always strove to capture fleeting movement and expression. In this portrait the soft jowels are animated by the swift turn of the head and loose strands of hair curl carelessly against the back of the neck. The firm set of the lips and the glint in the eyes capture the purpose and intelligence of the subject. The facture of the present terracotta is very close to that of the Louvre version. As John Larson has observed, both terracottas were cast in the same sections, and have a vertical seam running through the centre of the forehead and down the nose. Like these other versions the present terracotta was produced in Houdon's workshop and the finishing would have been overseen by the sculptor himself.

We are grateful to Anne Poulet for her assistance in cataloguing this lot. John Larson wrote a technical report on the present terracotta in 2005.

RELATED LITERATURE
J. Gaborit et al, Sculpture française II – renaissance et temps modernes, vol. II, cat. Louvre Museum, Paris, 1998, no. RF 350, p. 423 ; A. Poulet et al, Jean-Antoine Houdon : Sculptor of the Enlightenment, exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2003, no. 47, pp. 17-27 & 263-8