Hercules the Archer

This work which immortalized the name of Bourdelle takes as its subject one of the "twelve labors" of the hero Heracles from Greek mythology. This sculpture captures the instant of the arrow's release as Heracles pulls back his bow with all of the strength of his powerful body in his effort to shoot the voracious birds Stymfalides. The tension coursing through his brawny muscular body is filled with a wonderful spiritual energy when compared to the lively physical forms of Rodin's figures. This work was extremely well received when it was entered in the 1910 Salon of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. The critic Charles Maurice praised the work with the comment "Realism extended to the realm of Idealism." (Source: Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2009, cat. no. 142)