When this marble bust by Jean-Antoine Houdon was displayed at the Paris Salon of 1775, the thirty-four-year-old artist was considered by many of his contemporaries as the finest portrait sculptor of his time. Here, Houdon has used a trademark trick to create the lively eyes of his sitter, Marie Anne de Vastre, Madame His. He has drilled deep circles in the center of each eye to create pupils, made shallower depressions for irises, and then carved little “posts” attached to the eyelids to make the eyes appear to sparkle. The slight parting of her lips gives the impression that she is drawing breath.

Little is known about Madame His. She was the wife of a prominent German banker, who probably commissioned the bust. The artist knew the couple personally, and they attended his marriage. Upon her death, Madame His left this sculpture not to her family but to a Jacques-Antoine Hippolyte, Comte de Guibert, a celebrated French general and poet. Some have speculated that they had been lovers.