Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
58.S.23 |
Object Name |
Bust |
Title |
Bust of Anne Robert Jacques Turgot |
Artist |
Houdon, Jean-Antoine |
Date |
1810 |
Description |
Plaster portrait bust on low, circular, columnar base. The subject has shoulder-length, curly hair and he wears a lace jabot, and embroidered waistcoat. Unsigned and undated. |
Label |
Under the reign of French king Louis XVI, economist Anne Robert Jacques Turgot advocated free trade and equal taxation. Unfortunately, Turgot's proposed reforms were unpopular with the nobility, and he was forced to resign from his position as Controller-General prior to the French Revolution. In 1810, twenty-nine years after Turgot's death, his friend and protégé Pierre Samuel DuPont Nemours contacted Turgot's nephew for permission to make a mold from an original portrait bust by Houdon, so the artist could prepare plaster copies for Turgot's American friends. DuPont donated his bust to the APS in 1816, along with a copy of Turgot's "Mémoire sur les Colonies Américaines," which ironically recommended that the French withhold financial support of the American Revolution due to the government's growing debt. The portrait shows Turgot in aristocratic court dress, but his intense gaze expresses seriousness and a sense of purpose. |
Medium |
Plaster |
Dimensions |
H-31.5 W-24.5 D-20 inches |
Credit line |
American Philosophical Society. Gift of Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours, 2 November 1816. |
Search Terms |
18th century eighteenth century 19th century nineteenth century sculpture France French |