Bust of the Count of Buffon at The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg

Buffon, botanist and man of the Enlightenment, was in his time as famous as Voltaire. Houdon portrays him in the antique style, with a rounded truncation of the naked torso, a type he had inaugurated with his bust of Diderot. He imbues his portrait with a vivacity that emphasizes the 74-year-old man's intellectual and physical vigor. The naturalist Georges Louis Leclerc, Count de Buffon (he received the title from Louis XV in 1771), was appointed Keeper of the Jardin du Roi, the king's botanical garden (which later became the Museum of Natural History), in 1739. From 1744 to 1788, he wrote his monumental Histoire naturelle, genérale et particulière, which covered the whole of the mineral world and the animal kingdom. A man of the Enlightenment, he believed scientific knowledge should be based on experimentation. The publication of his Epoques de la nature in 1779, written in a clear, noble style, won him the admiration of educated circles all over Europe, including several kings. Empress Catherine II of Russia considered Buffon the equal of Newton, and she commissioned Houdon to sculpt a marble bust of the naturalist. The German writer Melchior Grimm, a friend of Diderot who kept European courts informed of intellectual developments in Paris, acted as her intermediary. In 1782 the portrait was sent to Saint Petersburg and installed in the Hermitage Museum. Buffon, too old to make the journey, delegated his son to take it there for him. A marble copy, probably the Louvre sculpture in veined marble, was presented at the 1783 Salon. The great portraitists of the time had already portrayed the scientist: the painter François-Hubert Drouais in 1761, the sculptor Jean-Baptiste Defernex in 1772, and above all Augustin Pajou, First Sculptor to the King, in 1776. The latter received a commission from the Directorate of the King's Buildings for a monumental full-length statue. He depicted Buffon in the antique style, as a draped nude looking down over the animal kingdom. He made three busts from it, in various costumes, including one in the French style, i.e., in contemporary costume (Louvre). Houdon also portrayed Buffon in the antique style, with a naked torso whose rounded truncation cuts off the shoulders. He had already used this habitual way of portraying philosophers for his busts of Voltaire and Diderot (Louvre). But whereas Pajou sought to convey Buffon's genius, Houdon shows the man. Although he has not idealized the 74-year-old scientist, his powerful face and neck give him a vigorous air. He is not wearing a wig, and his natural hair is curled at the temples and tied in a bow. The complete absence of accessories allows one to concentrate on the face. The scientist's authority and superior intellect are conveyed by the almost haughty way he holds his head, his noble, prominent forehead and his keen eye. The bust is animated: the head is pivoting to the left (accentuating the neck tendon) and the lips are half open, as if he were about to speak. The work met with such success that Houdon reproduced it in different materials, including one in the French style, with his shirt open at the neck. This object is part of Scan The World. Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open source, community effort, if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email [e-mail] to find out how you can help.Scanned : Photogrammetry (Processed using Agisoft PhotoScan)启蒙时代的博物学家布丰（Buffon）在其所处的时代与伏尔泰齐名。雕塑家乌东（Houdon）以古风风格创作了他的肖像：裸露的躯干被圆润地截断，这一表现手法是他凭借狄德罗胸像率先开创的。他为这座肖像注入了鲜活的生命力，凸显出这位74岁老者的智力与体力活力。 博物学家乔治·路易·勒克莱尔·德·布丰伯爵（Georges Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon）于1771年由路易十五授予伯爵头衔；1739年，他获任皇家植物园（Jardin du Roi）馆长，该植物园日后更名为自然历史博物馆（Museum of Natural History）。1744年至1788年间，他撰写了鸿篇巨制《自然、一般与特殊史》（Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière），涵盖了整个矿物界与动物界。作为启蒙思想家，他坚信科学知识应建立在实验基础之上。1779年，他以明晰高雅的文风出版了《自然的时代》（Epoques de la nature），该作品赢得了全欧洲学界的敬仰，包括数位君主的赞誉。俄国女皇叶卡捷琳娜二世认为布丰可与牛顿比肩，遂委托乌东为这位博物学家创作大理石胸像，该委托由狄德罗的友人、负责向欧洲宫廷通报巴黎思想动态的德国作家梅尔希奥·格林（Melchior Grimm）代为转达。 1782年，这座胸像被运往圣彼得堡，安置于冬宫博物馆（Hermitage Museum）。布丰因年迈无法亲自前往，便委托儿子代为转交。1783年的沙龙展展出了一尊大理石复制品，该作品大概率即为卢浮宫（Louvre）所藏的脉纹大理石雕塑。 彼时的杰出肖像艺术家已曾为布丰创作肖像：1761年，画家弗朗索瓦-于贝尔·德鲁瓦（François-Hubert Drouais）完成了布丰的肖像画；1772年，雕塑家让-巴蒂斯特·德费尔内（Jean-Baptiste Defernex）亦创作了其胸像；其中尤以国王首席雕塑家奥古斯坦·帕茹（Augustin Pajou）1776年的作品最为出众。帕茹受国王建筑总监委托，创作了一座大型全身像，以古风风格将布丰塑造为身着披覆织物的裸体形象，俯瞰着脚下的动物界。他以此为原型制作了三尊不同服饰的胸像，其中一尊采用法式风格，即身着当代日常服饰的版本（藏于卢浮宫）。 乌东同样以古风风格创作布丰肖像：裸露的躯干以圆润的截断面截断肩部，这是他为伏尔泰与狄德罗胸像（藏于卢浮宫）所惯用的哲学家肖像表现手法。不过，帕茹旨在传递布丰的天才特质，而乌东则着力刻画真实的人物本身。尽管并未对这位74岁的科学家进行理想化处理，但其硬朗的面部与颈部线条仍尽显蓬勃活力；他未佩戴假发，自然卷发在鬓角处卷曲，以发带束起；完全未佩戴任何配饰，使观者的注意力得以集中于面部。这位科学家的权威与卓越才智，通过其近乎高傲的昂首姿态、高贵突出的前额与敏锐的眼神得以传递。这座胸像充满动感：头部向左转动（强化了颈部肌腱的线条），双唇微张，仿佛即将开口演说。 该作品大获成功，乌东以不同材质复刻了该形象，其中包括一尊法式风格版本，采用领口敞开的衬衫造型。 本作品属于扫描世界（Scan The World）项目：该项目是MyMiniFactory发起的非营利性倡议，旨在创建覆盖全球的可3D打印雕塑、艺术品与地标数字档案，供公众免费获取。扫描世界是一项开源的社区协作项目，若您身边有有趣的藏品并希望参与贡献，可发送邮件至[e-mail]了解参与方式。扫描方式：摄影测量法（使用Agisoft PhotoScan处理）。