Day 187 - Houdon bust of Diderot
September 16, 2019
Gallery 528 is a formal reception room from the Hotel de Tesse', a mansion on the quai Voltaire built between 1765 and 1768 for a countess. It is very grand, perhaps 60 feet long. It is also very dim; I can't read any captions without a flashlight. A few people stop to look at the labels, but for most, it seems to be a passageway between other galleries. More than ever, this gallery makes me question whether the Wrightsman Galleries are something of a white elephant for the Met. But then I hear a father explaining to his young daughter, as they pause for a moment, that the room came from a grand hotel in Paris (well, no), and that people back then didn't have electric lights and lit their rooms with candles (yes!). So maybe even the passers-by are absorbing something. But at what cost?
What I do find of interest in the gallery is the art - more precisely, two works. One is a self-portrait by a woman painter of whom I've never heard, Rose-Adelaide Ducreux, who lived in the second half of the 18th century. The artist is shown standing and playing a harp, which suggests that she was a reasonably accomplished musician as well as painter. It's too dark to see clearly, but she does seem to have captured in oil the sheen of her satin gown.
The second work, today's object, is a marble bust of Denis Diderot by Jean-Antoine Houdon (whose first name I never knew before). Perhaps 14-15 inches high, the bust was executed in 1773, when Diderot was 60. He looks it: The cheeks are a bit puffy, the naso-labial folds quite deep. But he looks lively and thoughtful, his eyes narrowed in inquiry. The caption says that this effect is enhanced by Houdon's decision to portray Diderot with his head turned slightly to the right instead of straight-on, a comment I find perceptive and persuasive. He appears to wear a crown of laurel leaves.
What I do find of interest in the gallery is the art - more precisely, two works. One is a self-portrait by a woman painter of whom I've never heard, Rose-Adelaide Ducreux, who lived in the second half of the 18th century. The artist is shown standing and playing a harp, which suggests that she was a reasonably accomplished musician as well as painter. It's too dark to see clearly, but she does seem to have captured in oil the sheen of her satin gown.
The second work, today's object, is a marble bust of Denis Diderot by Jean-Antoine Houdon (whose first name I never knew before). Perhaps 14-15 inches high, the bust was executed in 1773, when Diderot was 60. He looks it: The cheeks are a bit puffy, the naso-labial folds quite deep. But he looks lively and thoughtful, his eyes narrowed in inquiry. The caption says that this effect is enhanced by Houdon's decision to portray Diderot with his head turned slightly to the right instead of straight-on, a comment I find perceptive and persuasive. He appears to wear a crown of laurel leaves.
The bust was made for Count Alexander Stroganoff, an admirer of Diderot who lived in France for many years. Ir's nice to think that an aristocrat admired something besides fancy furniture. (Also on exhibit in the gallery, I should note, is an elaborate combination thermometer-barometer signed by someone who identified himself as the king's barometer-maker -- so presumably, Louis XV had some interest in science, or at least, in the weather.)
Thank goodness, the next gallery will be a welcome change. It contains some of my favorite pieces: handsome writing desks and cabinets with beautiful painted porcelain tops and fronts. And it's well-lit.
Thank goodness, the next gallery will be a welcome change. It contains some of my favorite pieces: handsome writing desks and cabinets with beautiful painted porcelain tops and fronts. And it's well-lit.
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