The Seated Voltaire by Houdon - Essay Example

The Seated Voltaire By Houdon Known to be one of the most important sculptors of the French Neo ical age, Houdon was a master at creating busts of artists, thinkers, poets and political figures. We recognize a change in his work through his sculpture Seated Voltaire. The figurine was created on a request by Voltaire’s niece who saw a sketch the sculptor had made when Voltaire had posed for the bust. The originality in the creation sets it apart from the other creations of Houdon and the sculpture is totally different in a few ways from Houdon’s other works. We study all these aspects one by one and find out what sets the Seated Voltaire apart from the rest. To begin with, Houdon is a well known name in the art of bust creation. According to sources, the bare headed bust of Voltaire which has come down generations as the most common representation of the philosopher was created by Houdon and personally approved by Voltaire. As a representative of Neoclassicism, the sculpture is a great example of the sculptor’s observational quality. It is also representative of the Republican thinking that ruled French society in the eighteenth century. As a result of masterpieces like this one, Houdon received recognition and admiration from Americans and was later granted a citizenship of virtue by America. Since the story begins with Voltaire and the busts that Houdon created for him, it would be worthwhile to note that creation of the busts was considered to be the first or initial step to creation of the Voltaire seated sculpture. However, this assumption was wrong since the sculpture was ordered long after the busts were created and approved and exhibitions of paintings and sketches on Voltaire were released by the artist. Materials and Process Used: As in all of Houdon’s works, a great emphasis is laid on details of the human being’s features in the sculpture. As a result, the only material that helped the sculptor create the exact details was plaster. In all his sculptures, Houdon has used plaster as the sculpting material and this is no different. However, there are two different versions of the original plaster sculpture, which were made totally of marble and were bought by different elite families, one of them being that of Voltaire himself. The sculpture created using plaster has a terra cotta cast added after the original plaster and finished by Houdon. The sculpture can be found in the Montpellier museum. Metal supports are provided to the sculpture and the entire sculpture is placed on a wooden base. The most emphatic figurine that arrives from the Neoclassical era and is considered equivalent to Houdon’s work is the creation of Pigalle. He created a sculpture called Voltaire, in which the philosopher is depicted seated clotheless and sports a dynamic poise with a natural body language. This sculpture is in stark contrast with the Seated Voltaire since the body language is articulate in the latter and the philosopher is shown fully clothed. Houdon chose to keep his subject intellectually stimulating and not very casual in demeanor, which is in accordance to his style of work. The expression on the face of the philosopher is more profound than the expression on the face of the Seated Voltaire. However, unlike Pigalle’s sculpture, the Seated Voltaire did not initiate a scandal and is therefore, considered as one of the respectable pieces of work around the thinker. Unlike Houdon’s work, Pigalle’s work reflects naturalism, truth of the form and had somewhere failed to meet the expectations of public. Genre: The sculpture belongs to the anonymous gift type of sculptures created on the request of a family member of Voltaire. The genuine sarcastic smile and the sparkling eyes of the philosopher depicted on a slightly tilted head brings to fore the observational genius of Houdon, who had made this sketch on a casual note, with no official intimation about striking a pose to Voltaire. The statue is resonant of the individualistic style of French Neoclassical sculpting wherein Houdon uses contemporary building techniques to erect the sculpture. The sculpture has been used for display in museums, as a reception piece and as a gift over time. However, due to rareness of availability of the original and its prototypes, display and preservation of the art form has been deemed the most effective means of carrying this masterpiece forward to coming generations. Original Setting: The original sketch made by the artist was casual and raw in its finish. When Voltaire’s niece pointed out it out as an ideal image for the sculpture, it was only by few improvisations that Houdon to bring it to its final shape. There are minute differences in the original sketch and the sculpture and this can be attributed to the knack of the artiste to have modified the initial image to create an immortal image. In the sketch, the feet are aligned, the position of sitting is upright and left hand is placed limply on the chair arm. The overall look of the sketch is passive and Voltaire resembles an old man ready for his bed after dinner. This image is pretty close to what Voltaire was in real life in 1778, when this portrait was created after he returned from exile, shortly before his death. The sculpture in turn has a more aggressive outlook wherein the head is tilted at an angle that gives a sharp turn to the expression. The smile is albeit sarcastic as in the original sketch but the cocking of the head sideways adds an element of drama to the expression and enhances its impact on the onlooker. The left hand grips at the arm of the chair instead of being placed limply on the arm. The right foot of the sculpture is angled backwards and the entire focus of the sculpture is shifted to heaviness in bearing. The seat of the chair has a lower seat back and the garments of the philosopher are heavy and bulky. The entire effect that it creates is resonant with the effects that designers and 3D sculptures get in today’s creations using a software. Thus, Houdon used his own intelligence to put together an awesome sculpture, which stands apart from the rest of his creations, for the sole reason that I was made to be iconic and monumental and was scheduled to go as a gift to Catherine the Great. The sculpture finally reached the Salon in 1779 after being accepted by Catherine. It was created for a public setting and hence, these minute changes were very apt and iconic in creating the monumental impact (Robinson, 2012, 122), given the fact that Houdon did not have any experts or software around him at that time in French history. Original Function: This sculpture was created to be a gift and a memoir of the recently departed philosopher. Voltaire had been on exile in Switzerland and had returned to Paris in February, 1778 (Breck, 1912, 224). The philosopher had been criticized for his thoughts earlier but when he returned, he was greeted amidst cheer and applause owing to the success and depth of his plays and thoughts. Sadly, he passed away in May, 1778 and the only memories of him were the busts and sketches created by Houdon. According to Voltaire, the bare headed bust was the best replica of himself that Houdon had created. The sculptor had created several other busts and sketches (McCarthy, 1972, 762). So, when Voltaire passed away, his family members looked up to Houdon for more memoirs, and the same was found in a much appreciated sketch of the philosopher. Thus, this sculpture, other than being a gift available for public viewing was also a memory of a respected philosopher of the French society. By all means, Houdon did all justice to the sculpture’s intended future by adding elements of magnanimity and royalty to the original sketch. Amongst premiere works of art and sculpture recorded around the same time, English works like the sculpture of Beau Brummell by Irena Sedlecka and sculptures by Jean-Pierre-Antoine Tassaert in English history are remarkably different from the works of French Neoclassical artists like Houdon (Hallam, 1978, 75). Roman sculpture and the likes of Pygmalion are different from French Neoclassical creations since they do not hold the same detailed features and are raw in appearance. The social aptness of Neoclassical creations in French art was totally different from British and Roman creations during the same period since they were personal in nature and were either created to convey a social message or simply keep the person on whom the sculpture is being designed or the person whose work of art or poetry is an inspiration for the sculpture, happy and satisfied. The Seated Voltaire has been copied in several miniscule forms by artists of different capacities. The miniature form of the sculpture has been created for commercial sale but they are not of the same quality or detailing as the large one. The main sculpture is monumental in height and is available as public display in France (Benisovich, 1948, 70). The sketch is also to be found in Louvre and the marble version of the statue is by far known to be the finest copies of the original. Both the marble versions of the original were created by Houdon and were sent as memorabilia to respective friends and acquaintances as planned by Denis. Other than these two copies, which were personally touched to finish by Houdon, all other copies have been smaller in size (Wills, 1984, 420). The idea of the sculpture has not been copied as it is since the creation of this Neoclassical piece. No other sculptor around the world ever tried emulating the same idea although there have been sculptures like Thinking Moses and others. Neoclassical And Republican French Society: The eighteenth century French society was conservative and less barbaric than it was in the previous century. The society was more open minded to freethinking and loved a new kind of classical touch in thoughts, music, poetry and painting, which defined its Republican overdose. This had led to the semi-conservative Neoclassical era and while the French society watched a transition take place from concentrating respect and adulation to the monarch to showing respect and admiration for poets, thinkers and political figures. As a result, busts of these prominent figures in society became a common occurrence and sculptors were called to work on such representations. The requests were often completed after due approval from the person whose bust was being created for a specific location or purpose. Houdon was a well known artist much before this sculpture was created. His recognition however, reached epic heights after he created this structure and made it monumental and highly effective. Onlookers can relate to the shrewd genius of the philosopher when they look at this structure and while many are aware of how the original sketch and the sculpture are a bit different, it does not take much effort to understand that given the accuracy of the sculptor, the slight modifications were also parts of unrecorded observation of Voltaire, which are not visible in the sketch but are etched in the minds of the sculptor. Adding drama to a little piece of regular sketching is not every body’s forte and all sculptors realize that it takes a good deal of original thinking and observation to come up with what Houdon had managed to. Houdon’s career took off soon after the sculptor as selective orders of different figurines and busts started pouring in from the elite class of the French society after he created the seated Voltaire. Houdon has been very lucky to have created busts for luminaries like Washington. But what sets him apart from the rest is that he chose to stick to his style even after a steady shift in Neoclassical art was rampant and other artistes were taking to it. It must be noted that other than busts and a few original sculptures like the seated Voltaire, Houdon is not famous for figurines till before this sculpture was created. Even after this monumental popularity, he chose to stick to creation of busts and excelled at it in his inimitable style. In short, Houdon was a connoisseur who did not abuse his talent and put it up for sale. Instead, his love for art and sculpting kept him dedicated to the quality of his work, which made him memorable to his followers and a worksman who was highly in demand in the elite class of society. Conclusion: The Seated Voltaire happened when there was a need to create a memorable picture of Voltaire. What is brought along with it was recognition for the artist behind the sculptor and memories for followers of the philosopher. However, from the way it was developed to the slight adjustments made in the expression, angles and position of the sculpture, it was evident that serious lessons in adding creativity to a rough idea and lessons in observation of the subject being drawn can be derived from the structure. References Robinson, Alicia. "Houdon and Voltaire: an attribution reconsidered." Sculpture Journal 21.1 (2012): 97-134. Benisovich, Michel. "Houdons Statue of Voltaire Seated." Art Bulletin (1948): 70-71. Breck, Joseph. "Three Busts by Houdon." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 7.12 (1912): 224-226. McCarthy, Michael. "Documents on the Greek Revival in Architecture." The Burlington Magazine (1972): 760-769. Hallam, John S. "Houdons Washington in Richmond: Some New Observations." American Art Journal (1978): 73-80. Wills, Garry. "Washingtons Citizen Virtue: Greenough and Houdon." Critical Inquiry (1984): 420-441. Read More