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To the Virginia Delegates in Congress Paris, July 12, 1785
GENTLEMEN, -- In consequence of the orders of the Legislative &
Executive bodies of Virginia, I have engaged Monsr. Houdon to make
the Statue of Genl. Washington. For this purpose it is necessary for
him to see the General. He therefore goes with Doctr. Franklin, &
will have the honor of delivering you this himself. As his journey
is at the expence of the State according to our contract, I will pray
you to favor him with your patronage & counsels, and to protect him
as much as possible from those impositions to which strangers are but
too much exposed. I have advised him to proceed in the stages to the
General's. I have also agreed, if he can see General Greene & Gates,
whose busts he has a desire to make, that he may make a moderate
deviation for this purpose, after he is done with General Washington.
But the most important object with him is to be employed to
make General Washington's equestrian statue for Congress. Nothing
but the expectation of this could have engaged him to have undertaken
this voyage. The pedestrian statue for Virginia will not make it
worth the business he loses by absenting himself. I was therefore
obliged to assure him of my recommendations for this greater work.
Having acted in this for the state, you will I hope think yourselves
in some measure bound to patronize & urge his being employed by
Congress. I would not have done this myself, nor asked you to do it,
did I not see that it would be better for Congress to put this
business into his hands, than those of any other person living, for
these reasons:
- he is without rivalship the first statuary of this
age; as a proof of which he receives orders from every other country
for things intended to be capital:
- he will have seen General Washington, have taken his measures in every part, and of course
whatever he does of him will have the merit of being original, from
which other workmen can only furnish copies.
- He is in possession of the house, the furnaces, & all the apparatus provided for making
the statue of Louis XV.
If any other workman is employed, this will
all be to be provided anew and of course to be added to the price of
the statue, for no man can ever expect to make two equestrian
statues. The addition which this would be to the price will much
exceed the expectation of any person who has not seen that apparatus.
In truth it is immense. As to the price of the work it will be much
greater than Congress is aware of, probably. I have enquired
somewhat into this circumstance, and find the prices of those made
for two centuries past have been from 120.000 guineas down to 16.000
guineas, according to the size. And as far as I have seen, the
smaller they are, the more agreeable. The smallest yet made is
infinitely above the size of the life, and they all appear outree and
monstrous. That of Louis XV. is probably the best in the world, and
it is the smallest here. Yet it is impossible to find a point of
view from which it does not appear a monster, unless you go so far as
to lose sight of the features and finer lineaments of the face and
body. A statue is not made, like a mountain, to be seen at a great
distance. To perceive those minuter circumstances which constitute
its beauty you must be near it, and, in that case, it should be so
little above the size of the life, as to appear actually of that size
from your point of view. I should not therefore fear to propose that
the one intended by Congress should be considerably smaller than any
of those to be seen here; as I think it will be more beautiful, and
also cheaper. I have troubled you with these observations as they
have been suggested to me from an actual sight of works in this kind,
& supposed they might assist you in making up your minds on this
subject. In making a contract with Monsr. Houdon it would not be
proper to advance money, but as his disbursements and labour advance.
As it is a work of many years, this will render the expence
insensible. The pedestrian statue of marble is to take three years.
The equestrian of course much more. Therefore the sooner it is begun
the better.
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