Code art.: 12304
Price: 280,00 €

The original sculpture: Jean-Antoine HOUDON (Versailles, 1741 - Paris, 1828).
Loisue Brongniart (1772-1845) and Alexandre Brongniart (1770 – 1847).
Material: Terracotta
Dimensions of the original: H. 0.34 m; W. 0.24 m; D. 0.18 m
Purchased by the Louvre Museum in 1898, 1898
Louvre Inventory number: R.F. 1197

The busts of the Brongniart children established the sculptor's marvelous ability to depict the freshness and innocence of childhood without sentimentalism, expressing the personality of his subjects. The two busts were designed to contrast with each other. They turn their heads in opposite directions. Alexandre is dressed; Louise is nude. The liveliness of the boy is reflected in his unkempt hair, open jacket, mischievous look, and in the more vigorous modeling of the face. Louise seems more poised: she still has the round cheeks of a very young child, and her hair is carefully swept up in a bun secured by a band with a bow on the top. The color of the eyes is conveyed by differing treatments: Alexandre's irises, rendered by two concentric rows of radiating incisions, give the impression of light-colored eyes, whereas Louise's irises are deeply hollowed out, the resulting shadow imparting a darker, more serious look.