Bust of Summer

In 1781, Houdon designed two life-size, full-length figures personifying Winter and Summer: a young woman, numb with cold, and a woman gardener holding a watering can. These works, both of which are held by the Musée Fabre in Montpellier, were carved in marble in 1783 and 1785. The figures proved so successful that the scuptor decided to reinterpret them in different sizes and materials (bronze and terracotta). However, he only produced busts of the figure of Summer, in plaster and marble versions including this lovely piece acquired by Moïse de Camondo, which had belonged to the collection of the Général Comte de Vibraye at the Château de Freschines in the Loir-et-Cher region of France.