{"data":{"description":"Houdon Washington Life Mask .. in 1785 by French sculptor Jean Antoine Houdon when Washington was fifty-three. In commenting to a friend, Houdon said ..","title":"The Real Face Of George Washington: Houdon Washington Life Mask","post_type":"page","content":"\u003cp style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003eGeorge Washington's life mask was made in 1785 by French sculptor Jean Antoine Houdon when Washington was fifty-three. In commenting to a friend, Houdon said he had no idea of \"the majesty and grandeur of Washington's form and features\" until he studied him as a subject.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003eThe life mask shows Washington as he really appeared in life....without the personal and, often, subjective interpretations of the many artists, painters and sculptors who came to sketch, paint and model his countenance.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003eWhen Washington returned to Mount Vernon after the War, he was one of the most famous men in the world. His newly-won celebrity status brought him a steady pilgrimage of visiting foreigners, Americans, historians and innumerable artists, all of whom consumed many hours of his time.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003eIn a letter to Francis Hopkinson in 1785, the year his life mask was made, Washington wrote: \"I am so hackneyed to the touches of painters' pencils that I am now altogether at their beck, and sit 'like patience on a monument,' whilst they are delineating the lines of my face. It is a proof, among many others, of what habit and custom can accomplish.\"\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003eIt has been the good fortune of generations of ever since that Washington had the patience to allow Antoine Houdon to create an important artifact as part of our national heritage.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003ctable style=\"color: #000000; height: 468px;\" width=\"563\"\u003e\r\n\u003ctbody\u003e\r\n\u003ctr\u003e\r\n\u003ctd\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003ca href=\"/earlyamerica/washfront\"\u003e\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-4257 size-full\" src=\"/images/earlyamerica/washfronticon.jpg\" alt=\"Front view of Houdon Washington Life Mask\" width=\"111\" height=\"144\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cp\u003e Front view of Houdon Washington Life Mask\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\r\n\u003ctd style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eClick either icon for enlargements\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\r\n\u003ctd\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003ca href=\"/earlyamerica/washprof\"\u003e\u003cimg class=\"wp-image-4258 size-full\" src=\"/images/earlyamerica/washproficon.jpg\" alt=\"Profile of Houdon Washington Life Mask\" width=\"99\" height=\"144\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cp\u003e Profile of Houdon Washington Life Mask\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\r\n\u003c/tr\u003e\r\n\u003ctr\u003e\r\n\u003ctd colspan=\"3\"\u003e\r\n\u003cul\u003e\r\n\t\u003cli\u003eSee also: \u003ca href=\"/earlyamerica/portrait/george-washington/\"\u003ePortrait of George Washington\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\t\u003cli\u003eWatch the Video:\r\n\u003ch2 class=\"entry-title\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"/earlyamerica/videos/real-face-george-washington/\"\u003eThe Real Face Of George Washington\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\r\n\u003c/li\u003e\r\n\u003c/ul\u003e\r\n\u003c/td\u003e\r\n\u003c/tr\u003e\r\n\u003c/tbody\u003e\r\n\u003c/table\u003e","menu":[{"path":"lives-early-america","title":"Famous Lives","submenu":[{"path":"lives-early-america/autobiography-benjamin-franklin","title":"Autobiography of Ben Franklin"},{"path":"lives-early-america/ramsays-life-washington","title":"Ramsay's The Life of Washington"},{"path":"lives-early-america/adventures-col-daniel-boone","title":"The Adventures of Col. Daniel Boone"},{"path":"lives-early-america/true-story-paul-revere","title":"The True Story of Paul Revere"},{"path":"world-early-america/famous-obits","title":"Famous Obits"},{"path":"portrait","title":"Portraits"},{"path":"rare-images/last-men-revolution","title":"The Last Men of the Revolution"}]},{"path":"freedom-documents","title":"Freedom Documents","submenu":[{"path":"freedom-documents/bill-rights","title":"Bill of Rights"},{"path":"freedom-documents/declaration-independence","title":"Declaration of Independence"},{"path":"freedom-documents/u-s-constitution","title":"The U.S. Constitution"}]},{"path":"world-early-america","title":"World of Early America","submenu":[{"path":"bookmarks","title":"Early American Bookmarks"},{"path":"world-early-america/famous-obits","title":"Famous Obits"},{"path":"firsts","title":"Firsts!"},{"path":"rare-images/maps","title":"Maps"},{"path":"rare-images","title":"Rare Images"},{"path":"music1","title":"Music"},{"path":"writings","title":"The Writings of Early America"}]},{"path":"boston-massacre","title":"Boston Massacre"},{"path":"milestone-events","title":"Milestones"},{"path":"early-america-review","title":"The Review"},{"path":"home/teachers-students","title":"Teachers"},{"path":"sitemap","title":"Sitemap"}]},"success":true}