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Lot Essay
Rhodia Dufet Bourdelle has confirmed the authenticity of this bronze.
In 1893 citizens of Montauban awarded a commission for a monument honoring les combattants et defenseurs du Tarn-et-Garonne who had fought during the 1870-1871 Franco-Prussian war to a local son, Emile-Antoine Bourdelle, who was then working in Auguste Rodin's Paris studio. It was the young sculptor's first public commission, and he made the initial studies for it that year, although it was not until 1897 that the maquette showing a group of four figures was submitted for approval.
Some aspects of the monument display the powerful influence of Rodin. Bourdelle was still in the process of finding his own distinctive style and, in order to win useful technical assistance from Rodin and to obtain the necessary funds to undertake the project, it seemed sensible to provide an ensemble that would at least superficially conform to standards set by Rodin, then France's leading creator of public sculpture. But as plans for the monument progressed its expression began to take on a more distinctive personal tone. In order to record the horror of war and heavy burden of destiny, Bourdelle's figures assumed a more violent, brutish and massive aspect compared to anything that Rodin would have created. The citizens of Montauban were upset at the maquette that was sent to them, and it required the intervention of Rodin to convince them the Bourdelle's plan was indeed of the highest quality and beauty. Bourdelle exhibited studies for parts of the monument at the Salon of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts in 1897, and worked on the project for the next five years. The finished monument was exhibited in the 1902 Salon before being shipped to Montauban.
The sculpture met with mixed reviews in Paris. One critic likened it to an "archeological fragment brought out curiously misshapen from the bowels of the earth" (quoted in P. Cannon-Brookes, op. cit., p. 25). Embarrassed civic officials in Montauban decided to place the controversial work away from the center of town. Bourdelle experienced further frustration when the monument was moved again several decades later to a riverside location that was even less appropriate, which allowed the sculpture to be viewed close up only from the sides.
Other difficulties plagued the final production of the monument. Normally several casts would be made, with one or two going to the French state. Bourdelle was able to fund one cast only, the one to be erected in Montauban, and he was compelled to ship the parts to Brussels so that they could be cast more cheaply than in Paris. When the plaster components arrived home the sculptor was shocked to discover that they had been poorly packed and were all broken. Only the figure of the Grand Guerrier de Montauban, the figure seen here, could be reconstructed from the pieces and cast on its own.
The sculpture nonetheless set Bourdelle's star on the ascendant. Rodin was selfless in his praise of his erstwhile student: "This work has had its share of criticism, in Paris and in Montauban. It is for all that still an epic work, one of the great achievements of sculpture today. Note how the monument, considered as a whole and particularly if seen from a distance, retains its unity and grandeur, because the key elements are so well arranged. It is not just the exclusion of the everyday motifs so painfully apparent in much school work, but the sculpture's vitality and newness of vision and handling that link it to the great works of the past" (quoted in ibid., p. 28).
In 1893 citizens of Montauban awarded a commission for a monument honoring les combattants et defenseurs du Tarn-et-Garonne who had fought during the 1870-1871 Franco-Prussian war to a local son, Emile-Antoine Bourdelle, who was then working in Auguste Rodin's Paris studio. It was the young sculptor's first public commission, and he made the initial studies for it that year, although it was not until 1897 that the maquette showing a group of four figures was submitted for approval.
Some aspects of the monument display the powerful influence of Rodin. Bourdelle was still in the process of finding his own distinctive style and, in order to win useful technical assistance from Rodin and to obtain the necessary funds to undertake the project, it seemed sensible to provide an ensemble that would at least superficially conform to standards set by Rodin, then France's leading creator of public sculpture. But as plans for the monument progressed its expression began to take on a more distinctive personal tone. In order to record the horror of war and heavy burden of destiny, Bourdelle's figures assumed a more violent, brutish and massive aspect compared to anything that Rodin would have created. The citizens of Montauban were upset at the maquette that was sent to them, and it required the intervention of Rodin to convince them the Bourdelle's plan was indeed of the highest quality and beauty. Bourdelle exhibited studies for parts of the monument at the Salon of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts in 1897, and worked on the project for the next five years. The finished monument was exhibited in the 1902 Salon before being shipped to Montauban.
The sculpture met with mixed reviews in Paris. One critic likened it to an "archeological fragment brought out curiously misshapen from the bowels of the earth" (quoted in P. Cannon-Brookes, op. cit., p. 25). Embarrassed civic officials in Montauban decided to place the controversial work away from the center of town. Bourdelle experienced further frustration when the monument was moved again several decades later to a riverside location that was even less appropriate, which allowed the sculpture to be viewed close up only from the sides.
Other difficulties plagued the final production of the monument. Normally several casts would be made, with one or two going to the French state. Bourdelle was able to fund one cast only, the one to be erected in Montauban, and he was compelled to ship the parts to Brussels so that they could be cast more cheaply than in Paris. When the plaster components arrived home the sculptor was shocked to discover that they had been poorly packed and were all broken. Only the figure of the Grand Guerrier de Montauban, the figure seen here, could be reconstructed from the pieces and cast on its own.
The sculpture nonetheless set Bourdelle's star on the ascendant. Rodin was selfless in his praise of his erstwhile student: "This work has had its share of criticism, in Paris and in Montauban. It is for all that still an epic work, one of the great achievements of sculpture today. Note how the monument, considered as a whole and particularly if seen from a distance, retains its unity and grandeur, because the key elements are so well arranged. It is not just the exclusion of the everyday motifs so painfully apparent in much school work, but the sculpture's vitality and newness of vision and handling that link it to the great works of the past" (quoted in ibid., p. 28).