Medium: Bronze with fine brown green patina

Dimensions: 24in. h

Description:

The first, life-size version of this representation of Diana sparked a scandal when it was presented. The goddess of hunting who Jean-Antoine Houdon executed in plaster in 1777, was young, looked very lively and very naked and took the breath away from the visitors of his Parisian studio.

Houdon succeeded in releasing the classic figure from its torpor and the goddess seemed to hover lightly on the pedestal. His Diana refrains from any decoration, only the crescent-shaped diadem points to her divine origin. Her elegance and beauty were admired, as was her carefree nudity - which, however, was considered offensive. Her bare, too realistically shaped pubic bone was filled and flattened in 1829.

The original bronze cast from 1790, still made by Houdon himself, is now in the Parisian sculpture collection Musee du Louvre.

Type of Work: Sculpture

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