Mount
Vernon in Miniature
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The
Real Face of George Washington
A French artist,
Jean Antoine Houdon, made a life mask of George Washington in 1785.
Washington was 53 years old. Houdon was very impressed with his
subject. He told a friend that he was in awe of "the majesty
and grandeur of Washington's form and features."
 An
American artist, Joseph Wright, also made a life mask. Washington
described the experience:
" He oiled my features over, and, placing me flat upon my back
upon a cot, proceeded to daub my face with the plaster. While in this
ludicrous attitude, Mrs. Washington entered the room, and seeing my
face thus overspread with plaster, involuntarily exclaimed. Her cry
excited in me a disposition to smile, which gave my mouth a slight
twist or compression of the lips that is now observable in the busts
which Wright afterwards made."
Student Directions:
- Study the
life mask made by Houdon in 1785.
- Compare
the facial features and shape of Washington's face to the portrait
painting.
- What looks
different in the painting?
- What looks
the same?
- What makes
the life mask so valuable to us?
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