During his lifetime Houdon created masterpieces from bronze, marble, terra cotta, and plaster from some of the most renowned and respected philosophers, politicians, and free thinkers of his time including Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Voltaire, and Moliere, as well as his own wife and children. The exhibition features approximately 20 works.
The second exhibition of works from the Louvre opens this fall at the Denver Art
Museum, featuring highlights from the Louvre's unparalleled collection of sculpture
by Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828). Houdon from the Louvre will feature
approximately 20 works portraying intellectual and political leaders, including
portraits of American founding fathers George Washington and Benjamin Franklin,
famous busts of French EnlightenÂment thinkers Denis Diderot and Voltaire and
well-known portraits of Houdon's wife and children. For the first time, a catalog
featuring the Louvre's entire Houdon collection will be published in English to
accompany the exhibition.
Houdon from the Louvre is presented in association with Louvre Atlanta, a
collaboration between High Museum of Art, Atlanta, and Musée du Louvre, Paris. This
exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the
Humanities. Accenture is the presenting partner for this exhibition. Generous
support is provided by AXA Art. Additional funding is provided by Avanade Inc., the
citizens who support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, and the
generous donors to the Annual Leadership Campaign. Promotional support is provided
by The Denver Post.
Opens October 11, 2008
Denver Art Museum
100 W 14th Ave Parkway - Denver
The Museum is open Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday noon to 5 p.m.; closed Mondays and most major holidays.