Whether or not is it true, the story goes that, as a child, Bourdelle was struck by his own resemblance to a portrait of Beethoven, which he came across by chance in the window of a Montauban bookshop. From this first encounter, 15-year-old Bourdelle defined his intention to “recreate the Beethoven that I hear and admire with all my soul”.
The figure of Beethoven remained with Bourdelle throughout his career, from his formative years in the early 1880s until his death in 1929.
Of the 35 drawings of Beethoven recorded in Bourdelle's graphic work, six were created during the first half of his career, a period that ended with one of the sculptor's first successes: the State’s purchase of the bronze bust of Metropolitan Beethoven in 1903.
By identifying himself with the figure of Beethoven, Bourdelle assumed the condition of the suffering creator, the torments of genius confronted with the force of his destiny. Presented as doubles, the six “dark drawings” –Beethoven 1880–1890, Beethoven and His Genius, Beethoven circa 1905 – mark the artist's initiatory journey, as he makes his way through the dark light.
Stéphane Ferrand
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