Jan 30, 2008
Jan 30, 2008
Jan 18, 2010
Jan 18, 2010
Jan 18, 2010
Jan 18, 2010

Portrait of Christoph Willibald Gluck

Portrait of Christoph Willibald Gluck

c. 1775

Jean-Antoine Houdon

(French, 1741–1828)

Terracotta

Overall: 49.5 x 40 x 28.5 cm (19 1/2 x 15 3/4 x 11 1/4 in.); with base: 64 x 39.3 x 28.1 cm (25 3/16 x 15 1/2 x 11 1/16 in.)

Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1988.59

Location

Description

A well-known composer of the 1700s, Gluck reformed opera by bringing unprecedented simplicity and sincerity to his music and staging, qualities shared by Houdon’s bust. This portrait, by depicting Gluck’s pockmarked face, was perceived as a natural and truthful representation. Yet, he would never have appeared publicly with unkempt hair and an open collar, which constituted the standard for representing an artist.

See also
Collection: 
Sculpture
Type of artwork: 
Sculpture
Medium: 
Terracotta

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