Portrait of Antoine-René de Voyer de Paulmy d’Argenson
European Art

Portrait of Antoine-René de Voyer de Paulmy d’Argenson
Artwork Details
Artist/Maker
Jean-Baptiste Defernex
French, 1730– 1809
French, 1730– 1809
Date
ca. 1765
Medium
Terracotta on wooden base decorated with gilded bronze
Accession #
2007.126
Dimensions
16 15/16 x 9 1/16 x 6 5/16 inches
Location
On View - Stent Family Wing, Level 2, Gallery 208
Description
The subject of this small sculpture is Marc Antoine-René de Voyer, the Marquis de Paulmy and third Marquis d’Argenson. A diplomat, statesman, and French Minister of War, De Voyer was also an art collector and bibliophile. His library included some 100,000 carefully selected volumes, largely by French writers, especially poets. The documents he wrote cataloguing his library reveal his expertise and taste. This small terra-cotta is attributed to Jean-Baptiste Defernex, who worked as a modeler for the Sèvres porcelain factory during this period.