Skip to main content

Primary sourceSculpturec. 1750-1786

Voltaire

Jean-Claude-François-Joseph Rosset · c. 1750-1786

A marble bust of Voltaire by Jean-Claude-François-Joseph Rosset, made during or shortly after his lifetime.

A marble bust showing Voltaire's likeness, made during or close to his own lifetime.

Ask Voltaire about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Black and white photograph of a bust of an elderly bald man with deeply lined face, wearing a loose open-collared garment with drapery, on a tall circular pedestal against a plain backdrop.
Jean-Claude-François-Joseph Rosset, Voltaire, c. 1750-1786. Marble. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

About this source

What it is

This marble bust of Voltaire was made by the sculptor Jean-Claude-François-Joseph Rosset sometime between 1750 and 1786. It is held today at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, having been bequeathed by Annie C. Kane in 1926.

Why it matters

Portrait busts like this one were a common way for important writers and thinkers of the 18th century to have their likeness preserved. Because it was made during or very close to Voltaire's own lifetime, it offers a direct visual record of how he appeared to his contemporaries, showing his age and distinctive features.

Look closer

  • What does the sculptor's choice of clothing and pose suggest about how Voltaire wanted to be seen?
  • Why might wealthy or educated people in the 18th century commission marble busts of writers?
  • What can and can't a sculpture tell us about a person's personality?

This sculpture is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Voltaire on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Voltaire sources

Meet the AI Voltaire →
Title page of the 1759 French edition of Candide, ou L'Optimisme, with an engraved floral ornament, a horizontal rule, and the date MDCCLIX printed at the bottom. A pink library stamp is visible.Book

Primary source

Candide

Voltaire · 1759

Title page of a book in French reading 'Lettres Ecrites de Londres sur les Anglois et autres sujets, Par M. D. V***, A Basle, MDCCXXXIV', with a decorative ornament below the title. Cream-colored, slightly aged paper; faint text from another page shows through.Book

Secondary source

Letters on the English

Voltaire · 1734

Black and white engraving in an ornate decorative frame with floral garland at top. Night scene with crescent moon, minarets and domed buildings. Several figures in period dress on a courtyard: a woman in a long gown reaches out toward a turbaned man in a fur-trimmed robe, while other men stand to the right. Caption below reads 'ZARA, Act V. Scene the last.'Painting

Secondary source

The Sultan Stabs Zara

1700-1799

Engraving titled The Fatal Sacrifice. A woman in a long robe stands at a stone altar with fire and smoke rising behind her, while onlookers in classical dress gather on the left and a helmeted armed man stands at the right edge in a columned hall.Painting

Secondary source

Olympia Throws Herself on the Fire

Hubert-François Gravelot · 1700-1799

Book

Primary source

Treatise on Tolerance

Voltaire · 1763

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Voltaire now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions