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Patinated bronze bust of the Marquis de La Fayette, resting on a white marble pedestal base (posterior).
Signed and dated under the right arm "Houdon an 1790".
Based on the original 1790 marble sculpture preserved at the Palace of Versailles.
Total height: 72 cm.
Height of bronze: 56 cm.
Width: 52 cm.
La Fayette died at the age of 73 on May 20, 1834, and was one of the last actors of 1789.
Lavished with honors but controversial among his contemporaries, he was considered a hero of the American and French Revolutions and a lifelong defender of freedom, equality, and human rights.
La Fayette was enlisted as a member of George Washington's staff and found in him a lifelong mentor and friend. On December 17, 1781, in gratitude for his victory at Yorktown, the Virginia legislature "unanimously resolved to make a bust of the Marquis de La Fayette in Paris, of the best marble employed for that purpose, and to present it to the Marquis" and that an agent "employ a suitable person in Paris to execute the above bust."
Thomas Jefferson strongly influenced Houdon's selection for this prestigious commission.
On July 14, 1790, Houdon received a commission from the National Guard of Paris for a marble portrait of La Fayette dressed in his National Guard uniform, artfully half-opened over a knotted cravat from which a shirt collar escapes, his head turned slightly to the right, and the sitter wearing a roller wig.
Ref: ROGQNH06FN
| Condition | Very good |
| Style | Louis XVI (Bronze sculptures of Louis XVI Style) |
| Period | 19th century (Bronze sculptures 19th century) |
| Country of origin | France |
| Shipping Time | Ready to ship in 8-15 Business Days |
| Location | 44000, Nantes, France |
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