id:			154246
accession number:	1988.59
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1988.59
updated:		2023-01-11 06:27:46.873000

Portrait of Christoph Willibald Gluck, c. 1775. Jean-Antoine Houdon (French, 1741–1828). Terracotta; overall: 49.5 x 40 x 28.5 cm (19 1/2 x 15 3/4 x 11 1/4 in.); with base: 64 x 39.3 x 28.1 cm (25 3/16 x 15 1/2 x 11 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1988.59

title:				Portrait of Christoph Willibald Gluck
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c. 1775
creation date earliest:		1770
creation date latest:		1780
current location:		
creditline:			Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund
copyright:			

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culture:	France, 18th century
technique:	terracotta
department:	European Painting and Sculpture
collection:	Sculpture
type:		Sculpture
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

* Jean-Antoine Houdon (French, 1741–1828)  - artist

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measurements: Overall: 49.5 x 40 x 28.5 cm (19 1/2 x 15 3/4 x 11 1/4 in.); with base: 64 x 39.3 x 28.1 cm (25 3/16 x 15 1/2 x 11 1/16 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

	inscription:	inscribed in plaster fill in back at bottom:  Houdon FT 177[4?].  Since this inscription was clearly added after the terracotta was fired, it cannot be considered a signature.
	translation:	
	remark:		

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		The Year in Review for 1988
	opening date:   1989-03-01T05:00:00
	<i>The Year in Review for 1988</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 1-May 14, 1989).

	title:		Rococo, Revolution, Restoration
	opening date:   1989-07-11T04:00:00
	<i>Rococo, Revolution, Restoration</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 11-September 24, 1989).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	Possibly René Huyghe, 1906-1997 (Paris, France)
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Michael Hall Fine Arts, Inc. (New York, New York), sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1988.
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:


digital description:
A well-known composer of the 1700s, Gluck reformed opera by bringing unprecedented simplicity and sincerity to his music and staging, qualities shared by Houdon’s bust. This portrait, by depicting Gluck’s pockmarked face, was perceived as a natural and truthful representation. Yet, he would never have appeared publicly with unkempt hair and an open collar, which constituted the standard for representing an artist.

wall description:
A well-known composer of the 1700s, Gluck reformed opera by bringing unprecedented simplicity and sincerity to his music and staging, qualities shared by Houdon’s bust. Unlike the other sculptures in this gallery, which idealize their subjects, this portrait, by depicting Gluck’s pockmarked face, was perceived as a natural and truthful representation. Yet, he would never have appeared publicly with unkempt hair and an open collar, which constituted the standard for representing an artist.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	"The Year in Review for 1988." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 76, no. 2 (1989): 30-75.
	page number: 	p. 68, no. 20, repr. p. 30
	url:		www.jstor.org/stable/25160061

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1988.59/1988.59_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1988.59/1988.59_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1988.59/1988.59_full.tif