Very charming pair of bronze statues dating to the 19th century. The bust depict the heads of a laughing child and of a crying child. This pair of bronze sculptures was made after Jean Antoine Houdon (1741-1828). "Houdon is famous for his portrait busts and statues of philosophers, inventors and political figures of the Enlightenment. Houdon's subjects include Denis Diderot (1771), Benjamin Franklin (1778-09), Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1778), Voltaire (1781), Molière (1781), George Washington (1785–88), Thomas Jefferson (1789), Louis XVI (1790), Robert Fulton, (1803–04), and Napoléon Bonaparte (1806)." The Laughing Child and The Crying Child are usually called "John who laughs and John who cries" after a famous poem of the philosopher Voltaire (1694-1778): "Jean qui pleure et qui rit". In this poem, Voltaire evokes the versatility of the human being, capable of suffering from depression in the morning and of going to feast in the evening. This is the story behind these so cute statues. They will find their places everywhere in your home.
CONDITION: Good antique condition with some normal signs of ages like an antique patina. Please take a close look at the photos.
