A pair of biscuit porcelain busts after Jean-Antoine Houdon Brongniart children . Louise and Alexandre were the two children of the architect Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart, famous for the construction of the Paris Stock Exchange (Palais Brongniart). The portraits are exquisitely crafted and designed to create contrast. They turn their heads in opposite directions. Alexandre is clothed, while Louise is nude. The boy's vivacity is illustrated by his tousled hair, his jacket open at the chest, his mischievous gaze, and the nervous modeling of his face. Louise is more composed: she still has the plumpness of early childhood, and her hair is carefully gathered into a chignon.

Houdon , who showed an early interest in children's portraits, captured the freshness and innocence of childhood without sentimentality. His two terracotta portraits were exhibited at the Salon of 1777. They enjoyed great popularity, were reproduced in numerous versions in marble and bronze, and were also cast in Sèvres biscuit porcelain and terracotta. Houdon's two portraits were acquired by the Louvre Museum at the end of the 19th century. Our Limoges biscuit porcelain busts of children rest on a blue porcelain base, outlined in gold. The bust of Alexandre is marked inside the base: "Porcelaine Limoges France" and that of Louise: "Tharaud Limoges Made in France".

20th Era

Circa: 1930

Dim: L:10.9cm, D:7.5cm, H:21cm

Condition report : both busts are in very good condition. The male bust is slightly smaller.