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

This small terracotta bust attributed Jean-Baptiste Defernex was purchased by the High Museum of Art to enrich the collection's French sculpture holdings. Research into this sculpture had a three-pronged approach. First, research into Paulmy d'Argenson's biography was undertaken to reveal more secure connections to its current attribution to Defernex. Next, the Fellows investigated the attribution by comparing this artistic style with other sculptors of the time who worked in the medium of the terracotta portraits. Finally, a technical study was conducted with the help and guidance of Renee Stein, conservator at Emory's Michael C. Carlos Museum, which yielded further information about the bust's history and how it may have appeared in the past.