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| Pierre Bourdelle Items for Sale |
| African Animals panel. Pierre incorporated phosphorescent powders into the when he made it. If you put a black-light on it the animals and the fire-like area around the dancers glow; hence, the unusual color for the elephant. His technique of carving heated battleship linoleum with wood-carving tools to create a low-relief bas relief, and then painting on layers of lacquer was an adaptation of the Chinese lacquer paintings on carved wood. 25" H x 24" W Price: $3,400.00 |
| Detail of the African Animals panel |
| Panther panel. Pierre liked to use various metal leafs (e.g., "gold" [brass] leaf and "silver" [aluminum] leaf). These he would often treat with sea sponges dipped in chemicals to create lush, mottled colorations. In the Panther Panel he painted the leaf adhesive on in brush strokes to create a painterly effect for where the silver and gold leaf attached. Then he painted directly onto the gold & silver leaf with the lacquers to create a cross-hatched mosaic-like effect for the background and the eyes. 24" H x 24" W Price: $7,995.00 |
| Metal Mosaic Mayan-Style Jaguar Mask (lots of views) Pierre loved sitting at his large dining table after dinner and working on projects there (often with the TV going and his cat in his lap) that were strictly for himself -- the non-commissioned pieces. This was one of those rare items. All his life he had a passionate connection with cats -- large, small, wild, domestic, tattered, pedigreed -- they all held him in their spell. See also his carved linoleum of a panther (right). Another of his cats can be seen {CLICK HERE] This original sculpture is 50 years old, measures 8" from ear-to-ear, 5" high, and almost 4" front-to-back. It weighs about a pound, but the spirit of the man and energy of this piece give it great power -- it seems much larger than it actually is, and it changes so often that it sometimes seems slightly alive. . Price: $1,520.00 |
| Profile/Cross Pierre created this on the band saw using 1/4"-thick copper. I have no idea where he came across such thick copper. It is a strikingly simple piece that always draws notice. Price: $1,250.00 |
| Eagle (Hammered & Riveted Aluminum) Pierre created this on the band saw using 1/8"-thick aluminum. It was a preliminary sketch for a bank's commission. They found it too ferocious; esp. since it was the height of anti-war sentiment over Vietnam. After many years the bank closed, the final eagle was taken down and is now on Stevens Institute of Technology's Library (Hoboken, NJ). Price: $9,620.00 |
| Pierre Bourdelle (1901-1966) Pierre Emile Emmanuel van Parys Bourdelle was the only son of the world-renowned monumental sculptor, Émile-Antoine Bourdelle. Pierre grew up in Paris, with summers spent with his grandfather (Antoine Bordelles) in the foothills of the Pyrenees around Montauban. There he was surrounded by his relatives who were shepherds, goatherds, woodcarvers and cabinet makers. When he was 15 he lied about his age to be able to fight in WWI (as a bi-plane pilot), since he was too young to legally enlist. When his bi-plane caught fire and plummeted to the ground his ear drums were destroyed -- leaving him profoundly deaf for the rest of his life; a valuable artist's asset for when he needed to focus on a project and tune out distractions. He came to America to be an artist on his own merits and separate from being in the shadow of his father. He was doing well when WWII propelled him to join the fray again -- this time he was told he was too old. He sold whatever he could and became a volunteer ambulance driver for the American Field Service. He recorded the horrors of war on whatever he had at hand -- muslin for wounds, gauze, tape, and sometimes paper. Being deaf, he often could catch a good nap under the safety of his ambulance -- and not be awakened by an outbreak of renewed bombing & fighting. A few sets of his printed war drawings are still around, but most are locked away by their owners. War, as he tried to convey with his drawings, is not this surgically precise strategy that only knocks out the subjects we target -- it rends body parts and emotional trauma into searingly unforgettable moments that don't fade away, and cause the observer to turn away. Not something to hang on your wall or frame. When he returned home he married and started a new life. Many of his best pieces were done during this last 18 years of his life. Below are some of these items that are now for sale. |
