Émile-Antoine Bourdelle

(French, 1861-1929)

Le Pathétique (Étude de Bas-Relief pour la Façade du Théâtre des Champs-Élysées), 1911

glazed terracotta

marked with artist's monogram (lower left) and numbered 6/8 (lower right)

Cast in an edition of 8, plus 2 artist's proofs.

15 1/8 x 12 1/4 in. (38.4 x 31.1cm)

This lot is located in Philadelphia.

In a letter dates Paris, November 12, 1969, C. Bourdelle of the Musée Bourdelle confirmed the authenticity of the present work.

Provenance:

Christie's, New York, sale of February 18, 1988, lot 213 (as Plaque: L'Âme Pathétique)

Acquired directly from the above sale.

Literature:

Pierre Descargues, Bourdelle, Paris, 1954, p. (another cast illustrated).

Claude Aveline and Michel Dufet, Bourdelle et la Danse Isadora et Nyinsky, Paris, 1969, no. 106 (another cast illustrated).

Lot Essay:

In January 1910, Bourdelle was invited by his patron Gabriel Thomas to the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées construction site on Avenue Montaigne, Paris. Initially tasked with the painted and sculpted decor, he soon became involved in the project's architectural development under Auguste Perret. This allowed Bourdelle to approach the decor as “total architecture,” which he considered the highest art form. Over two years, he designed the façade’s monumental frieze and five marble bas-reliefs, created a series of forty frescoes in the atrium featuring centaurs, fauns, bacchantes, satyrs, and other mythological figures, and sculpted the decor of 16 columns and 8 posts, where our work was meant to be displayed.

Le Pathétique (Étude de Bas-Relief pour la Façade du Théâtre des Champs-Élysées), 1911

Le Pathétique (Étude de Bas-Relief pour la Façade du Théâtre des Champs-Élysées), 1911