Public data from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Learn more
Portrait of Christoph Willibald Gluck
About the Artwork
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.
Inscriptions
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.
Provenance
Possibly René Huyghe, 1906-1997 (Paris, France) Michael Hall Fine Arts, Inc. (New York, New York), sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1988.
Exhibition history
The Year in Review for 1988. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 1-May 14, 1989). Rococo, Revolution, Restoration. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 11-September 24, 1989).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Jean-Antoine Houdon (French, 1741–1828)
- Date
- c. 1775
- Medium
- terracotta
- Dimensions
- 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.)
- Type
- Sculpture
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Department
- European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
- Accession no.
- 1988.59
More by Jean Antoine Houdon in museum collections
Bust of Anne-Marie-Louise Thomas de Domangeville de Sérilly, Comtesse de Pange
Jean Antoine Houdon1780 · Sculpture
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00010789
Powered by Art Trackers