Emile-Antoine Bourdelle

Drame d'Interieur (interior drama)

Artwork Detail

Bourdelle worked as an assistant in Auguste Rodin’s

studio between 1890 and 1908. During this time

Bourdelle began his great series of busts and masks

of the composer Beethoven. He inscribed on one of

them: ‘My domain is the air, when the wind rises my

soul whirls.’ This is not intended as a portrait mask of

Beethoven, rather the wild hair is meant to suggest the composer’s inner torment and creative fervour, a symbol originally suggested in Cesare Ripa’s Iconologia of 1593.

Title
Drame d'Interieur (interior drama)
Artist/creator
Emile-Antoine Bourdelle
Production date
circa 1899-1905
Medium
bronze
Dimensions
610 x 380 x 330 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 1959
Accession no
1959/17/2
Copyright
No known copyright restrictions
Department
International Art
Display status
Not on display

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