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CHANDLER: Where heroic, human meet

Louvre sculpture exhibit is a step back in time

Mary Voelz Chandler

Published October 10, 2008 at 3 p.m.

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Jean-Antoine Houdon's 1784 bust presumed to be of Jean Charles Pierre Le Noir, made of near-pure white marble.

Photo by / Musee Du Louvre, Photos By P. Philibert

Jean-Antoine Houdon's 1784 bust presumed to be of Jean Charles Pierre Le Noir, made of near-pure white marble.

Houdon's 1779 terra cotta "Benjamin Franklin," a demonstration of the close link between the U.S. and France in that era. The exhibit also features a bust of George Washington.

Photo by / Musee Du Louvre, Photos By P. Philibert

Houdon's 1779 terra cotta "Benjamin Franklin," a demonstration of the close link between the U.S. and France in that era. The exhibit also features a bust of George Washington.

Houdon's 1777 marble "Morpheus," which is viewed under Plexiglas to protect its delicate wings.

Photo by / Musee Du Louvre, Photos By P. Philibert

Houdon's 1777 marble "Morpheus," which is viewed under Plexiglas to protect its delicate wings.

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Area museums are loaded with strong contemporary art right now, big names and big paintings that grab attention.

But for a part of the country without much access to historic sculpture, it's a treat to encounter "Houdon From the Louvre," a selection of about 20 works by 18th-century French master Jean-Antoine Houdon at the Denver Art Museum.

The installation that opens today is a glimpse into another era. It was a time when the heroic and the humanistic met in sculpture, when scholars and great thinkers were the toast of France (as were the founding fathers of this country), and when a talented artist was comfortable mass-producing some of his depictions.

The work comes from the Louvre, which owns the largest collection of work by Houdon (1741-1828).

This is the second of three exhibitions to come to the DAM through its role as an affiliate partner with Louvre Atlanta.

As installed at the DAM, with the Louvre's head curator for the department of sculpture, Guilhem Scherf, this assemblage of portrait busts, small-scale sculpture, an imposing bronze of Diana the Huntress, a wall plaque and a maquette for a funerary monument has more than enough room to breathe. It feels stretched out, perhaps to provide enough space at the conclusion of the installation for a demonstration area for visiting sculptors.

Yet a walk through the two galleries devoted to the work is like navigating a party frozen in time. The large marble busts are left uncovered, all the better to study the purity of the stone, the attention to detail on the back portion of the head and Houdon's techniques.

It's especially worth noting his unusual approach to the human eye (he left a chip of stone or other material hanging over it to simulate the gleam in a human pupil).

The naturalistic results, mixed with his emphasis on softly human expressions, help bring this work to life. Set against soft blue walls - close to a Wedgwood blue - the creamy white marble, terra cotta, plaster and bronze objects stand out in an almost eerie way.

The piece that signals the entry is Diana, perched on a pedestal in such a way that it is easy to inspect the sculpture as a volume. Lithe and appearing caught in midstride bounding through a forest, Houdon's goddess of the hunt offers entree to a space housing mainly small busts.

These include the great: Encyclopedie author Denis Diderot; scholar Georges-Louis Leclerc, comte de Buffon (whose elaborately curled hair here is a telling detail), and the philosopher/writer Voltaire.

And these include the familial: two depictions of Houdon's daughter Sabine and a charming rendering of his wife, Marie-Ange-Cecile Langlois. The funerary model is at the back of the gallery, as is a small plaster of a seated Voltaire.

The second gallery brings out the fireworks, in the form of larger busts and a small marble version of Houdon's Morpheus - unfortunately sans foot.

That's why this beautiful sleeping man, wreathed in poppies and sporting big, alert wings, is under Plexiglas. Those wings are just too ripe for injury, curator Scherf noted during a walk-through.

That piece may grab instant attention, but this space is dominated by a selection of French notables:

* Honore Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau, his skin showing the effects of smallpox;

* Marie Jean Antoine Nicola Caritat, marquis de Condorcet, of the giant wig;

* Actress Sophie Arnould, described on the label as "scandal prone";

* The stunning piece believed to be Jean Charles Pierre Le Noir, in near-pure white marble.

In a corner are George Washington, modeled when Houdon traveled to the United States, and Benjamin Franklin, a demonstration of the close link between the two countries at that time.

Houdon, the son of a servant and classically educated, knew them all, had access to them before (and sometimes after) their death, using the most accurate means to memorialize the high, the mighty and those who were friends or family.

With the wonderful rush of contemporary art offerings out there right now, this step back in time is both instructive and enriching. Art and history become one in Houdon's skillful hands.

Houdon From the Louvre

* What: Sculptural works by the artist of the French Enlightenment

* When and where: Today through Jan. 4; Denver Art Museum, Broadway at West 13th Avenue

* Information: 720-865-5000; denverartmuseum.org