Bust of Antoine-Louis François Le Fèvre de Caumartin

Houdon, the great neoclassical sculptor, created the Three Graces and, in the portrait genre, the famous Bust of Napoleon. Having benefitted from the best training, including at the French Academy in Rome, he went on to become the greatest Western portraitist of the second half of the eighteenth century. This work dates to the beginning of his career when, as a young artist, he was commissioned to create the portrait of Antoine Louis François Lefèvre de Caumartin, one of the most famous descendants of a great dynasty of Parisian parliamentarians. De Caumartin was a trusted and distinguished advisor to Louis XVI, whom the King had appointed as mayor of the municipality of Paris. He is depicted here with his mouth open and smiling, with his characteristic healthy appearance and amiable nature. Every specialist considers that the works executed circa the 1780s are amongst Houdon’s finest thanks to their unique combination of simplicity and nobility.