Benjamin Franklin

Artist Jean-Antoine Houdon (French, 1741-1828)

Place of OriginParis, France

Dateafter 1778

DimensionsH: 16 1/2 in. (41.9 cm); H (with base): 20 1/4 in. (51.4 cm)

MediumTinted plaster with Atelier seal

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Roy Rike

Object number

1969.93

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 23A, New Media

Label TextBenjamin Franklin (1706–1790) was representative of the American government in France from 1776 to 1785. In 1778 French sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon made a terracotta bust of Franklin apparently based on his observations of the great statesman at social events—in fact Houdon seems not to have actually met Franklin until after he made the portrait sculpture. Houdon created versions of his terracotta sculpture in marble as well as plaster, such as Toledo’s example. Demand for Franklin’s image was strong. He was a celebrity in Paris, attracting attention—even crowds—wherever he went. His nationality, sly wit, and deliberately plain, unfashionable appearance were sources of fascination to 18th-century Parisian society.Published ReferencesToledo Museum of Art, "Treasures for Toledo," Toledo Museum News, New Series, vol. 12, no. 4, Winter 1969, repr.

"La Chronique des Arts," Gazette des Beaux-Arts, vol. 75, no. 1213, Feb. 1970, repr. p. 68, no. 335.

"La Chronique des Arts," Gazette des Beaux-Arts, vol. 75, no. 1214, March 1970, p. 3.

"Treasures for Toledo," The Connoisseur, vol. 173, no. 698, April 1970, p. 300.

Davidson, Ruth, "Museum Accessions: Toledo's Treasures," Antiques, vol. 97, no. 3, March 1970, p. 352, repr.

"Recent Accessions," Art Quarterly, vol. 33, no. 3, Fall 1970, p. 333, repr. p. 329.

Bajou, Valérie, "Houdon in the Musée Fabre," Apollo, vol. 129, no. 323, Jan. 1989, p. 26, fig. 4, p. 25.

Brilliant, Richard, Portraiture, London, 1991, p. 138, fig. 64.

Comparative ReferencesSee also Carl L. Becker, "Benjamin Franklin," Dictionary of American Biography, New York, 1928-1936, vol. 6, p. 585 et seq. Cf. Georges Giacometti, La vie et l'oeuvre de Houdon, 2 vols., Paris 1929, vol. 1, pl. 54 et seq., (Franklin busts); vol. 2, p. 144 et seq. (seals and signatures). Cf. Charles Coleman Sellers, Benjamin Franklin in Portraiture, New Haven and London, 1962, ppl. 118-120, 179f., 199f., 203, (Caffieri and Houdon busts); pp, 304-316, esp. 306-309 (Houdon versions).