Diana
1778
Artist, French, 1741 - 1828
West Building Main Floor, Gallery 56
Artwork overview
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Medium
marble
-
Credit Line
-
Dimensions
overall without base: 63 x 45.1 x 32.2 cm (24 13/16 x 17 3/4 x 12 11/16 in.)
overall with base: 81.6 x 45.1 x 32.2 cm (32 1/8 x 17 3/4 x 12 11/16 in.)
gross weight: 150 lb. (68.04 kg) -
Accession
1957.1.1
Artwork history & notes
Provenance
Comte Marcellin de Fresnes, by 1879;[1] by bequest before 1907 to Comtesse Greffulhe [née Princess Elisabeth de Caraman-Chimay, 1860-1952], Paris;[2] (Wildenstein & Co., New York), by November 1955;[3] purchased 18 January 1957 by NGA.[4]
[1] The sculpture is mentioned as being in the collection of "M. le comte de Fresne" in Paris by Clement de Ris, "Le musée de l'Ermitage à Saint-Petersbourg," Gazette des Beaux-Arts, 19, 2nd per. (1879): 186.
[2] The countess' life dates and the 1991 reference referred to in this note are from the provenance in the 2003 exhibition catalogue (Anne L. Poulet, Jean-Antoine Houdon: Sculptor of the Enlightenment, Exh. cat., National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; Musée et domaine national du château de Versailles. Washington, D.C., 2003: 218). Anne de Cossé Brissac, La comtesse Greffulhe, Paris, 1991: 131-132, cites the unpublished memoirs of the countess and quotes an undated letter sent to her by the comte de Fresnes: "Je lègue à la comtesse Greffulhe, née Caraman-Chimay, le plus bel objet de Houdon, la première pensée de la Diane. Elle seule est digne de la posséder." See also "La 'Diane' et l' 'Apollon' de Houdon," Les Arts, no. 61 (January 1907): 10, 12, and G. Bapst, Diane Huntress by Jean Antoine Houdon, Paris, 1915: 10.
The bust was offered privately to Andrew W. Mellon in January 1936, but he declined to pursue the offer (see correspondence of 4 and 9 January 1936, in NGA curatorial files).
[3] Letter of 1 November 1955, from Wildenstein & Co. to NGA director John Walker, in NGA curatorial files.
[4] The sculpture was purchased by NGA with funds given by Syma Busiel.
Associated Names
Exhibition History
1777
Probably Salon, Paris, 1777, no. 248.
1974
Nineteenth-Century Sculpture, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1974, unnumbered checklist.
1976
The Eye of Thomas Jefferson, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1976, no. 335.
1996
Obras Maestras de la National Gallery of Art de Washington, Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico City, 1996-1997, unnumbered catalogue, 96-97, color repro.
2003
Jean-Antoine Houdon: Sculptor to the Enlightenment, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; Musée national du château de Versailles/Réunion des musées nationaux, 2003-2004, no. 36, repro.
Bibliography
1834
de Quincy, M. Quatremère. "Notice historique sur la vie et les ouvrages de M. Houdon, sculpteur." Recueil de notices historiques: lues dans les séances publiques de l'Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts Paris, 1834: 388-402.
1855
Montaiglon, Anatole de, and Georges Duplessis. "Houdon, sa vie et ses ouvrages." Revue universelle des Arts 1&2 (1855-1856): 179.
1879
Ris, Comte Louis Clément de. "Le musée de l'Ermitage à Saint-Petersbourg (first of 4 articles)." Gazette des Beaux-Arts 19 (February 1879): 186.
1907
Schemit, Jean. Archives de l'art français: Recueil de documents inédits, nouvelle période,1. Paris, 1907: 203.
1908
Schemit, Jean. "Catalogue critique des sculptures." Bulletin de la Société de l'Historie de l'Art français (1908): 171-172.
1910
Lami, Stanislas. Dictionnaire des Sculpteurs de l'Ecole française au dix-huitième siècle. 2 vols. Paris, 1910-1911:1: 419.
1913
Roger-Milès, L. Les Dianes de Houdon et les caprices de la pudeur estétique a la fin du XVIIe siècle. Paris, 1913: 26, 37, 40.
1915
Bapst, Germain. Diana Huntress by Jean Antoine Houdon (1741-1828). Paris, 1915: 7-18.
1919
Giacometti, Georges. Le statuaire Jean-Antoine Houdon: et son epoque (1741-1828) 3 vols. Paris, 1919:2:15-23.
1929
Giacometti, Georges. La vie et l'oeuvre de Houdon. 2 vols. Paris, 1928: 2:225-246.
1942
Rostrup, Haavard. J.A. Houdon (1741-1828). Copenhagen, 1942: 10, 26, 37.
1955
The Frick Collection: An Illustrated Catalogue of Works of Art in the Collection of Henry Clay Frick. vol. 12. New York, 1955: 98-99.
1959
Pope-Hennessy, John. "Honouring an Art Historian." Times Literary Supplement 3009 (30 October, 1959): 620.
Cott, Perry B. "A Note on Houdon's Bust of Diana." In Samuel H. Kress Foundation, Studies in the history of art. Dedicated to William E. Suida on his eightieth birthday. London, 1959: 364-367, fig. 1.
1960
"La chronique des arts." Supplement a la 'Gazette des Beaux-Arts'. (January 1960): repro. 39.
Réau, Louis. "La Diane et l'Apollon de Houdon." Colóquio 9 (June 1960): 59, repro.
1964
Réau, Louis. Houdon: Sa vie et son oeuvre. Paris, 1964: 24, no. 72, repro. fig. 5E/72.
1965
Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 159.
1968
National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 140, repro.
1984
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 645, no. 1016, repro.
1994
Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1994: 110, repro.
1999
Norman Herz, Katherine A. Holbrow and Shelley G. Sturman. "Marble Sculture in the National Gallery of Art: a Provenance Study." In Max Schvoerer, ed. Archéomatériaux: marbres et autres roches: ASMOSIA IV, Bordeaux, France 9-13 october 1995: actes de la IVème Conférence international de l’Association pour l’étude des marbres et autres roches utilizes dans le passé. Talence, 1999: 101-110.
2000
Scherf, Guilhem. Houdon: Diane Chasseresse. Paris, 2000: 20, repro. fig. 16.
2003
Houdon: Sculpteur des Lumières. Exh. cat. Musée National du Château de Versailles, France; National Gallery of Art, Washington; J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 2003: 225.
2005
Baillio, Joseph, et al. The Arts of France from François Ier to Napoléon Ier. A Centennial Celebration of Wildenstein's Presence in New York. Exh. cat. Wildenstein & Co., Inc., New York, 2005: 80 (not in the exhibition).
Inscriptions
on truncated arm, proper right: HOUDON / FECIT. / 1778.
Wikidata ID
Q63809777