Paris,
January 2005
On a visit to Paris to see Isabelle and Laurence, we visited the Musee
Bourdelle. Despite my enthusiasm for Rodin&apost;s work, I had not
heard of this pupil. Here are some shots that worked despite the
gathering gloom (it was gone 4pm when we arrived).
You can see from the woman standing in the background that this archer
is rather larger than life. Even allowing she is French. I
couldn´t get the perspective and the face in one shot, but the
latter is quite expressively hard.
And here is one of his models for the statue, with, as the background,
models for his bas-reliefs at the Théatre des Champs
Elysées.
Bourdelle seems to have peaked just as the First War was about to break
out. The museum is full of the kind of sculpture you can
recognise as a war memorial while you are still a mile off.
Here is a head which seems to have been destined to celebrate the
re-integration of Alsace into the republic:
I think I remember a cartoon strip in Pilote (Philémon?) which
owed something to this distorted head. There are also many
reliefs of the kind one finds in French railway stations and the more
expensive banks.
For my money, Bourdelle was better at classical themes, like his dying
centaur (aka Sappho)
and with smaller, more intimate works like this bust.
I can only remember that her name sounded Germanic.
Le Baiser au Volubilis, the notice reads. I am not sure I can see
either the bindweed or the kiss. Nor do I know what Bourdelle was
representing here:
Lastly, there
are several tributes to Bourdelle´s master:
He also had one or two pieces by Rodin in his collection.
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Mike Murphy