Antoine Bourdelle

Sculptor, painter, and draftsman Antoine Bourdelle learned to draw from a landscape painter as a child and then was introduced to carving by his father, a wood sculptor. In 1876, he began studying at the École des Beaux-Arts in Toulouse and then completed his studies in Paris.

Initially influenced by academic realism, Bourdelle decided against a corresponding career. In 1884 he made his debut at the Salon des Artistes Français with a bronze bust. In the 1890s he turned to Symbolism for a short time. However, he was decisively influenced by Auguste Rodin (1840-1917), for whom he worked as an assistant from 1893-1905. Through Rodin, he also received his first major commission, the Monument aux Combattants du Tarn-et-Garonne.

His works created after 1900 reflect the development of a personal style aimed at a synthesis of various borrowings with which he marked the transition from the Beaux Arts style to the modern Art Deco sculpture. This also includes the reliefs and frescoes produced for the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in 1910-12, as well as all the other major commissions of the last 15 creative years.

In addition to monumental works, Bourdelle’s œuvre includes nearly 100 portrait busts. He was also an outstanding painter, especially in pastels. For example, he executed about 60 frescoes with mythological themes at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and illustrated numerous books, including some by Gustave Flaubert. Finally, he taught at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière for about 20 years.

Along with Rodin, Bourdelle was the most important French sculptor at the turn of the century and increasingly developed an independent working method. Typical for him as well as for his time is the striving for monumentality, which is reflected in numerous mythological representations. However, his extensive oeuvre of about 900 sculptures also shows fluctuations in quality. Again and again, he was preoccupied with Beethoven, of whom he made dozens of busts.

Bourdelle was the founder and vice-president of the Salon des Tuileries in Paris and was appointed Commander of the Legion of Honor in 1924. His former studio in Paris is now a museum that houses many of his works.