Bust of Antoine-César de Choiseul-Praslin, the Duke of Praslin
Artist
Claude Ramey
(French, 1754 - 1838)
CultureFrench
Date1808
MediumTerracotta
Dimensions27 x 20 x 16 in. (68.6 x 50.8 x 40.6 cm)
Inscribedback: Claude Ramey. De Dijon/fecit. L'an 1808
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Object number2010.7
On View
Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 208
Label TextClaude Ramey French, 1754–1838 Bust of Antoine-César de Choiseul-Praslin, the Duke of Praslin, 1808 Terracotta Unlike many French aristocrats, the Duke of Praslin survived the Revolution to become a favorite of Napoleon. Claude Ramey’s bust records the aging duke’s complex allegiances in a world of rapid change. He proudly wears the uniform and medal of the revolutionary Legion of Honor, to which Napoleon had elected him, yet he still retains his wig, a pre-revolutionary aristocratic pretension that many noblemen had abandoned in favor of short, natural hairstyles. The bust’s stark realism dispenses with refined ideals as if to show the effects of the tumultuous Revolution. The duke’s weathered face seems to reflect its dire events. Museum purchase 2010.7 ProvenanceBy descent via the younger grandson of the sitter, whose daughter, Alix-Eugénie, married Charles de Mercy-Argenteau; thence by descent to their daughter, Georgina de Mercy-Argenteau, who married Claude, comte de Pimodan, great-grandfather of the present owner; Under consignment through W. M. Brady and Co., New York, NY; Museum purchase, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, 2010.
