After her initial training in Poland, notably with the famous sculptor Xawery Dunikowski, Janina Broniewska arrived in Paris in 1907 and became a pupil of Antoine Bourdelle at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière from 1909 to 1914. She is also said to have worked in the master's studio, enlarging the plaster studies for the Adam Mickiewicz Monument (1908-1929).
Broniewska exhibited several times at the Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. In 1913, she presented a bronze bust of Antoine Bourdelle. It may have been this very copy now in the Musée Bourdelle, cast by the Montagutelli Frères Foundry at 54 rue du Maine.
The bust created by the artist might have a rough appearance (one critic described it as ‘rather brutally treated’), yet it is not lacking in power. The portrait, though stylised, remains realistic. The base was inspired by Bourdelle's contemporary Head of Apollo (MBBR300). Built up of geometrical, asymmetrical steps, this association with the work that marked the affirmation of his new style pays tribute to the master.
A plaster edition of the Bust of Antoine Bourdelle is held in the National Museum in Warsaw, along with around 15 sculptures by Janina Broniewska.
Valérie Montalbetti Kervella
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