Bourdelle and his Self-Portrait in the studio

Taken around 1908 by Albert Harlingue, when Bourdelle stopped working for Rodin and conceived his Hercules the Archer, this photograph reveals future intent, aiming to portray an independent sculptor. The artist poses not in a smock but in a blue corduroy suit, the paradigm of the artist-worker. Bourdelle was particularly fond of this outfit, in which he also dressed his self-portrait, shown here on the stand, as a work in progress. This clever mise-en-abyme reaffirms the position of an emancipated sculptor, master of his own career and successful in his own right.

Colin Lemoine