Page 6 |
Previous | 6 of 16 | Next |
|
|
small (250x250 max)
medium (500x500 max)
large ( > 500x500)
Full Resolution
All (PDF)
|
This page
All
|
was one of elegant decoration and panoramic planning into which the heroic statue, or
the classically inspired group, fitted to perfection, but Bourdelle took advantage of the
trends to the full flowering of his genius.
As early as 1893 Bourdelle began work on a monumental scale. His memorial for
the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71 , the "Monument de Combittants" at Montauban
was an eight-year labor and admittedly one of his finest works. Even during the Great
War of 1914-18 Bourdelle was not idle. From 1917 came the superb equestrian statue
of the Argentinian hero General Alvear, not only a credit to Buenos Aires but undoubtÂedly
one of the great monuments of the century. His crowning masterpiece, however,
was the "Virgin of the Offering," a three-time life size statue of the Madonna of the
Vosges on a hill above the town of the old name of Niederbruck. This was in 1922 after
Alsace, so long a gory battle ground, had been won back for France.
As a sculptor-colleague for the architect, Bourdelle made an enviable place for
himself. The series of reliefs for the fa9ade and foyer of the Champs :Elyses Theatre in
Paris, completed in 1912, provided a source for plagiarism for lesser men. But it is in
Bourdelle's "Heracles, the Archer," as with Rodin's "Thinker," that the artist has been
best remembered. The virile straining figure, bending the heavy bow, has found a place
in so many museums throughout the world that it vies with the "Thinker" itself in esteem.
Yet even in the face of such great accomplishments Bourdelle suffered an eclipse
within a few years of his death in 1929. Tastes had changed from the turn of the century,
naturalism to a more forward looking realism. Master though Bourdelle was of his style,
he could not adjust himself to the dawning new era in art but simply found comfort in the
realm of Arcady as Debussy did in "L'Apres-rnidi d'une Faune."
Now the pattern has altered again. The present finds solace and beauty in the classic
exuberance which was his forte and Emile Antoine Bourdelle comes into his own once
more.
F. M. liiNKHOUSE
Director, Phoenix Art Museum
Head of Beethoven
Object Description
| Exhibition | Bourdelle - Sculpture & Drawing |
| Artist(s) | Bourdelle, Emile-Antoine |
| Title | Bourdelle - Sculpture & Drawing |
| View | Catalog |
| Year | 1964 |
| Decade(s) | 1960s |
| Exhibition Dates | 1964 August 13 - September 13 |
| Curator(s) | Long, Wayne |
| Description | Catalog accompanying the exhibition of the same name. |
| Catalog Format |
book catalogue (exhibition) |
| Catalog Information | 16 pages, black and white |
| Published | 1964 |
| Catalog Description | Produced by Otis Art Associates. Exhibition arranged by Wayne Long; Catalog design by David Green. |
| Catalog Contributor(s) | Green, David |
| Gallery | Otis Art Institute of Los Angeles County Gallery |
| Media |
Drawing Sculpture |
| ImageID | bourdelle-1964-catalog |
| Rights | Copyright Otis College of Art and Design |
| Collection | Ben Maltz Gallery Exhibition Archive |
Description
| Title | Page 6 |
| Full Text of PDF | was one of elegant decoration and panoramic planning into which the heroic statue, or the classically inspired group, fitted to perfection, but Bourdelle took advantage of the trends to the full flowering of his genius. As early as 1893 Bourdelle began work on a monumental scale. His memorial for the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71 , the "Monument de Combittants" at Montauban was an eight-year labor and admittedly one of his finest works. Even during the Great War of 1914-18 Bourdelle was not idle. From 1917 came the superb equestrian statue of the Argentinian hero General Alvear, not only a credit to Buenos Aires but undoubtÂedly one of the great monuments of the century. His crowning masterpiece, however, was the "Virgin of the Offering," a three-time life size statue of the Madonna of the Vosges on a hill above the town of the old name of Niederbruck. This was in 1922 after Alsace, so long a gory battle ground, had been won back for France. As a sculptor-colleague for the architect, Bourdelle made an enviable place for himself. The series of reliefs for the fa9ade and foyer of the Champs :Elyses Theatre in Paris, completed in 1912, provided a source for plagiarism for lesser men. But it is in Bourdelle's "Heracles, the Archer," as with Rodin's "Thinker," that the artist has been best remembered. The virile straining figure, bending the heavy bow, has found a place in so many museums throughout the world that it vies with the "Thinker" itself in esteem. Yet even in the face of such great accomplishments Bourdelle suffered an eclipse within a few years of his death in 1929. Tastes had changed from the turn of the century, naturalism to a more forward looking realism. Master though Bourdelle was of his style, he could not adjust himself to the dawning new era in art but simply found comfort in the realm of Arcady as Debussy did in "L'Apres-rnidi d'une Faune." Now the pattern has altered again. The present finds solace and beauty in the classic exuberance which was his forte and Emile Antoine Bourdelle comes into his own once more. F. M. liiNKHOUSE Director, Phoenix Art Museum Head of Beethoven |
