George Washington



GEORGE WASHINGTON, JEAN ANTOINE HOUDON; 1788-1792 C.E. MARBLE
  • After the successful conclusion of the American Revolutionary War, many state governments turned to public art to commemorate this momentous occasion. 
  • Little talent in America.
  • Artist trained at the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture and winner of the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1761 when only twenty years of age. 
  • Houdon was, by the middle of the 1780s, the most famous and accomplished neoclassical sculptor at work in France.
  • Given Houdon’s skill and ambition, the sculptor likely hoped to cast a larger than life-sized bronze statue of General Washington on horseback, a format appropriate for a victorious field commander. 
  • In time, however, Houdon would be disappointed if his aspiration was to forge an equestrian bronze, the final product, delivered more than a decade later, was comparatively simple standing marble.
  • They took detailed measurements of Washington’s body and sculpted a life mask of the future president’s face.
  • Houdon created a slightly idealized and classicized bust portrait of the future first president. Unfortunately, Washington disliked this classicized aesthetic and insisted on being shown wearing contemporary attire rather than the garments of a hero from ancient Greece or Rome.
  • In time, this statue of George Washington has become one of the most recognized and copied of images of the first president of the United States. 
  • Houdon not only perfectly captured Washington’s likeness; Houdon also captured the essential duality of Washington: the private citizen and the public soldier.
  • Fatherly; His stance mimics that of the contrapposto seen in Polykleitos’ Doryphoros; Washington’s left leg is slightly bent and half a stride forward, while his right leg is weight bearing.
  • His right arm hangs by his side and rests atop a gentleman’s walking stick; symbolizes not only the power of a ruler but also the strength found through unity.
  • Located in Rotunda of the Virginia State Capitol.
  • Houdon’s statue celebrates Washington the man, whereas others deified Washington as a god.
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