Antoine Bourdelle: 8 works

'This work which immortalized the name of Bourdelle takes as its subject one of the "twelve labors" of the hero Heracles from Greek mythology.'

'Upon his separation from Rodin, however, he sought direct inspiration in the work of the famous Neoclassical painter Ingres, a native of the sculptor's own hometown of Montauban. Bourdelle sculpted a portrait of Ingres in 1908 while developing Penelope, the pose of which, based on ancient Roman models, was among Ingres's favorites.'

'Trained first in Montauban and then in Toulouse, Bourdelle started work as an assistant in Rodin's studio. The two men were bound together by mutual admiration and respect, even if Bourdelle's desire for synthesis and construction in planes soon opposed him to Rodin's analytical modelling.'

'The form of Penelope waiting impatiently for her husband, whose letters from the battlefield have ceased, was created using the wife of Bourdelle, the artist, as the model.'

'Bourdelle researched the monumental art forms for sculpture found in Gothic cathedrals."To all of my family, my cherished wife Cleopatra Sevestos and my beloved children Pierre and Rhodia, I dedicate the dying centaur, Emile-Antoine Bourdelle, 6th March 1914, Paris" is inscribed on the back of the harp.'

'Bourdelle entered the _cole des Beaux-Arts in 1884 and studied under Alexandre Falgui_re. After working at Jules Dalou's studio, he became an assistant to Rodin.'

'The lines of force create a gaping void crossed only by the immense curve of the bow and produce a feeling of dynamic tension unprecedented in the work of Bourdelle.'

'Presented twice in Paris in 1905, first with Hébrard, then at the Salon d'Automne, Intimate Drama was part of Bourdelle's four entries to the exhibition of the Cercle de l'Art Moderne at Le Havre in 1907.'