30.10.1861 – 01.10.1929

Antoine Bourdelle once said of himself: “I am molding in the vulgar dialect”. Indeed, his sculptures are devoid of refined exquisite grace, they are full of strength, unbridled energy, full of raging emotions. He preferred the laconic and figurative language of Greek archaism, rather than the aesthetic of Hellenistic culture. These features are clearly expressed in the statue “Shooting Hercules” in 1909. A powerful figure with sharp features is permeated with energy, concentrated in the last before the shot of the force.

Emil Antoine Bourdelle was born on October 30, 1861 in the family of a wood carver. From early childhood he helped his father in his craft, thereby developing his artistic abilities and special interest in the volume, to sculpture. Then, receiving an education at the art school in Toulouse, Burdel showed extraordinary capacity for work, perseverance and talent and became the best student, which enabled him to receive a scholarship to study in Paris. However, the Paris of the 1880s proved to be an inhospitable place, a troubled political situation, a crisis of impressionism, a musty academy of official artists created an atmosphere unbearable for creativity. Burdel leaves the academy and loses scholarships.

However, the search for new teachers has not been fruitless. Around 1890, Antoine Burdel met Auguste Rodin, and their friendship and cooperation would last until 1908. Learning from the master, Burdel also worked actively independently, one of the largest orders was a monument to those who died in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, installed in the hometown of the sculptor Montauban.

Burdel gravitated toward monumentality, the dynamics of large plastic masses, the sharpness of the rough surface, the monument to General Alvear, the national hero of Argentina, who led the national liberation movement, opens a new stage in the creativity of the famous sculptor, his compositions acquire greater poise.

In the 1920s, the Burdel acquired world fame. His exhibitions are held in Prague, in Venice, in Japan and the USA. His creative heritage is enormous – it’s not only sculptures, but also drawings, paintings, illustrations, murals. The students of Antoine Bourdelle were such famous sculptors as Vera Mukhina and Alberto Giacometti.