Charles-Louis de Secondat (1689–1755), baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu ca. 1784 Sèvres Manufactory French One of the most remarkable sculptural projects of the eighteenth century was conceived by Charles Claude de Flahaut (1730–1809), comte d’Angiviller, in 1776. D’Angiviller, minister of buildings and the head of the royal manufactories, as well as the head of the academies of art and architecture to King Louis XVI (1754–1793), expressed his desire in a letter dated March 14, 1776, to Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre (French, 1714–1789), the first painter to the king, to commission a series of
Charles-Louis de Secondat (1689–1755), baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu ca. 1784 Sèvres Manufactory French One of the most remarkable sculptural projects of the eighteenth century was conceived by Charles Claude de Flahaut (1730–1809), comte d’Angiviller, in 1776. D’Angiviller, minister of buildings and the head of the royal manufactories, as well as the head of the academies of art and architecture to King Louis XVI (1754–1793), expressed his desire in a letter dated March 14, 1776, to Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre (French, 1714–1789), the first painter to the king, to commission a series of lifesize marble sculptures representing the illustrious men of French history. Instead of choosing military heroes as the focus of this project, the series was intended to celebrate men distinguished by “their virtues, talents, and genius.”[1] While there was already a long tradition in sculpture of venerating great men, the selection of figures renowned primarily for their intellect and civic virtue represented a novel focus and must have been intended to reflect, however indirectly, the glories of the Bourbon monarchy.[2] Known in contemporary records both as the Grands Hommes de la France (Great Men of France) and the Hommes Illustres de la France (Illustrious Men of France), the series of sculptures was intended for the Grande Galerie of the Louvre, Paris, although this placement was never realized.[3] In initiating this ambitious sculptural project, d’Angiviller selected the historical figures to be represented, and Pierre chose the artists to execute the sculptures. Many of the prominent artists in France were awarded commissions for the “Great Men,” including Jean- Jacques Caffieri (French, 1725–1792), Clodion (Claude Michel, French, 1738–1814), Étienne-Pierre Gois (French, 1731–1823), Jean- Antoine Houdon (French, 1741–1828), and Augustin Pajou (French, 1730–1809) (fig. 50). Twenty-seven marble sculptures were ultimately produced, whic
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