Unknown Man

This terracotta bust of a man depicted bare-chested and truncated at the torso alludes to antique portraiture. The à l’antique style was usually reserved for Enlightenment thinkers, writers, and academics. It was popularized in 18th-century France by Jean-Antoine Houdon, whose influence can also be seen in the sculpting of the eyes, with a post of material left in the center of the pupil to catch and reflect the light, and the hair, with its wide clumps and impressionistic texture.