Museum Home Past Exhibitions Jean-Antoine Houdon

November 4, 2003–January 25, 2004 at the Getty Center

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Browse reactions of other viewers below. These reactions were submitted to this site between November 4, 2003 and January 25, 2004. The site is now closed to new reactions. The opinions presented here may have been edited and do not reflect the opinions of the Getty.

Posted 11/27/03 by Richard, in Texas
This presentation is a great follow-up to Illuminating the Renaissance. Well done!

Posted 11/26/03 by Craig, in Pacific Palisades
Thank you for bringing Houdon's work to the Getty. I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibition because it brought history to life, and I am fascinated by how the artist was able to imbue stone and clay with the soul of the subject. I also attended the course, which was great fun.

Posted 11/21/03 by Gang Lin, in Beijing, P.R. China
This is the first time that I have a chance to view these great portraits in such a near distance. I think they are great. Also, thank you Getty for giving us a nice trip to the art world.

Posted 11/20/03 by Arlene Holland, in Los Angeles, CA
I cannot wait to attend this exhibition. I bike every other day to the Whole Foods market on Fairfax. I do not know much about art, but I was very drawn to the banners posted along the streets of West L.A. So I decided to go online to understand this wonderful creative artist. This site has allowed me to realize that art is an important part of my world. And I should take time to learn about the works of great artists. Very informative site.

Posted 11/17/03 by John Thompson, in Versailles, France
It might be interesting to note that Virginia was extremely late in paying for its now priceless statue of George Washington. This lead to great financial hardship for Houdon.

Posted 11/12/03 by Dan Lindfors, in Stockholm, Sweden
Very nice site, great way to view art in detail from the other side of the globe...

Posted 11/09/03 by Julianne, in Topanga, CA
I just loved the opportunity to see the work of Houdon in one place. I am in an interactive novel about Marie Antoinette online, and I loved seeing the personalities as close to life as possible. I was glad to be able to sketch Madame Adelaide, Louis XIV, Madame Houdon, Sophie Arnould and Voltaire! BTW, I believe that Madame Adelaide was Louis's aunt, not great-aunt...

Posted 11/07/03 by Christopher Yeager, in Westwood, California
The sculptor captures the lively intelligence in his sitters. You can see that Benjamin Franklin is chatting amusingly in French as Houdon captures his likeness; that Fulton is thinking, figuring out details of his next engine while still posing in Houdon's studio. And Voltaire? Well, he is forever "in control," captured pontificating his thoughts in stone for all eternity to see. Magnificent work, that clever Houdon, still charming and spot on two centuries later.

Posted 11/05/03 by Ludovic De Schutter, in Antwerp (Belgium), EU
It is a hopeful event to remember this artist who was a contemporary of the French as well as the American Revolution—a time that saw the birth of many of our constitutions and of direct democracy. (The Web site is an absolute delight.)

Posted 10/31/03 by Charlene, in Toledo, Ohio
Houdon really captured the emotion of his subjects. I'm astonished that this is possible in the media that he uses, which are basically stone. Such a hard task, but it's been done perfectly.


Rousseau / Houdon