Place of life and creation of the sculptor Antoine Bourdelle in the 19th century, this museum in Paris is a small paradise with its luminous spaces of exhibition and, rather rare in the agitated district of Montparnasse, a pretty garden inviting to the strolls. A little-known place, and free of charge, not to be missed even by those who are not interested in sculpture (but who may well become so after this inspiring discovery).
Born in Montauban in 1861, Emile-Antoine Bourdelle was destined to follow in his father's footsteps as a carpenter and cabinetmaker before obtaining, at the age of 15, a scholarship and a place at the School of Fine Arts in Toulouse. After 8 years of hard study, he tried his luck in Paris and came second in the entrance exam for the capital's Fine Arts school. The following year, in 1885, he settled in this studio (of a much more modest size at the time) and began to make a name for himself. Rodin then hired him as a practitioner and their collaboration was to prove fruitful, the style of one asserting itself in particular according to that of the other.
A plaster cast of "Hannibal's First Victory" was awarded a prize at the Salon of French Artists, a commission for the decoration of the Musée Grévin theater and his first solo exhibition: the early 1900s were prolific for the visionary sculptor who, throughout his life, pursued incessant stylistic and plastic research.
Located at 18 rue Antoine-Bourdelle in the 15th arrondissement of Paris (the street was named in honor of the sculptor after his death), the museum houses more than 500 plaster casts, marbles and bronzes made on site by the man Giacometti considered his master. One can admire in particular his famous archer Heracles, which is often found in school textbooks and, just about everywhere in the world, in prestigious museums such as Orsay.
Consisting of the artist's apartment, his former studio (faithfully reconstructed), a beautiful garden and a modern extension, the museum has seen its surface area increase tenfold since Antoine Bourdelle's death in 1929. In any case, it fulfills his wish: to have, like Rodin, a place that would survive him. Thanks to the generosity of Gabriel Cognacq, nephew and heir of the founder of the Samaritaine, his wish was fulfilled 20 years after his death. Helped by the perseverance of the sculptor's wife and then daughter, who took care to preserve the site and not to disperse the works, the museum was finally opened on July 4, 1949.
Since then, in addition to the permanent collections, which are worth a visit in themselves, the Bourdelle Museum organizes temporary exhibitions whose offbeat themes would certainly have appealed to the former master of the place. The cohabitation of his beautiful white sculptures with black Balenciaga dresses or with the strange and dreamlike works of his Danish contemporary Niels Hansen Jacobsen is indeed in keeping with the sculptor's innovative spirit.
Don't hesitate to come and visit this inspiring place.
Valerie from Comme des Français
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