Portrait of Christoph Willibald Gluck, c.1775 (terracotta on marble base)

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. 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.