Anne-Germaine Larrivée, Madame Paul-Louis Girardot de Vermenoux

Carved from a single block of white marble, this bust depicts a woman who appears caught in an unguarded moment. She turns to her right as if someone were approaching, an affectionate smile on her lips. A widow living in Paris at the time Houdon sculpted this portrait of her, Anne-Germaine Larrivée was an active participant in the intellectual circles that made the city a capital of the Enlightenment. The warmth and intimacy of Houdon’s marble portrait proclaims the captivating power of his sitter, a woman of great culture and charm.