Lot Essay
This sculpture is a study for the monumental version of Héraclès, Archer which was executed in the same year.
The model for the body of Héraclès was Doyen Parigot, a Commandant de Cuirassiers and a physical fitness fanatic, and it was he who suggested posing for Bourdelle. A career officer and very fine all-around athlete, as well as a cultivated man interested in the arts and literature, Parigot used to arrive at the Impasse du Maine in full uniform, mounted on his charger. The problem for Bourdelle was that Parigot's muscles were, if anything, over-developed and the sculptor experimented with a number of poses. Finally, he settled on the extremely demanding pose of Héraclès, in which Parigot's body was best displayed with the taut muscles in harmonious balance. For Bourdelle, the dynamism of the pose, the complex volumes, the equilibrium between the spaces and the rhythmic outlines of the elements were all important, whilst for Parigot it must have constituted a feat of endurance. He was only able to hold the pose for a few minutes at a time, but he made a note of the times and when he added them up, he had posed for a total of nine hours. (P. Cannon-Brookes, op. cit., p. 63)
Despite the long hours he spent posing for the sculpture, Parigot did not wish to be recognized, and Bourdelle used an idealized version of his Head of Apollo (1900) for the head of Héraclès, Archer.
The model for the body of Héraclès was Doyen Parigot, a Commandant de Cuirassiers and a physical fitness fanatic, and it was he who suggested posing for Bourdelle. A career officer and very fine all-around athlete, as well as a cultivated man interested in the arts and literature, Parigot used to arrive at the Impasse du Maine in full uniform, mounted on his charger. The problem for Bourdelle was that Parigot's muscles were, if anything, over-developed and the sculptor experimented with a number of poses. Finally, he settled on the extremely demanding pose of Héraclès, in which Parigot's body was best displayed with the taut muscles in harmonious balance. For Bourdelle, the dynamism of the pose, the complex volumes, the equilibrium between the spaces and the rhythmic outlines of the elements were all important, whilst for Parigot it must have constituted a feat of endurance. He was only able to hold the pose for a few minutes at a time, but he made a note of the times and when he added them up, he had posed for a total of nine hours. (P. Cannon-Brookes, op. cit., p. 63)
Despite the long hours he spent posing for the sculpture, Parigot did not wish to be recognized, and Bourdelle used an idealized version of his Head of Apollo (1900) for the head of Héraclès, Archer.