A masterpiece by Slodtz enters the Louvre

5/10/25 - Acquisition - Paris, Musée du Louvre - It was by bringing his final masterpiece into the national collections that one of the Louvre’s finest curators bowed out, with the discretion that had always characterised him: at the close of a most brilliant career, Guilhem Scherf – well known to readers of La Tribune de l’Art – was able to oversee the acquisition of the bust of the second Duke of Harcourt by Michel-Ange Slodtz, which entered the museum in the spring after having remained in private hands for nearly three centuries. This absolutely spectacular marble (ill. 1 and 2) had in fact never left the country, nor the family line of the sitter, who had devoutly preserved it since the 18th century. Though the Duke certainly was not blessed with good looks, the quality of his bust seems nothing short of astounding, the sculptor handling the marble with virtuosity to immortalise the panache of this career soldier, who sat for the artist in Rome in the spring of 1736. The photographs available to us show the work prior to its light restoration and its arrival in the galleries, scheduled for the autumn.

1. René-Michel Slodtz, called Michel-Ange Slodtz (1705–1764)
Portrait of François d’Harcourt, 1736 (before restoration)
Marble – 89 × 63 cm
Paris, Musée du Louvre
Photo: RMN-GP/M. Bourguet

See the image in its page

2. René-Michel Slodtz, called Michel-Ange Slodtz (1705–1764)
Portrait of François d’Harcourt, 1736 (before restoration)
Marble – 89 × 63 cm
Paris, Musée du Louvre
Photo: RMN-GP/M. Bourguet

See the image in its page

Triumphantly announced in a simple tweet at the beginning of summer, this major acquisition brings another masterpiece of 18th-century French sculpture into the Louvre, but above all allows Michel-Ange Slodtz finally to be exhibited in the museum — a glaring omission until now, though one partially made up for by Chrysès and Iphigénie, two superb terracotta sculptures on long-term loan from Sèvres