Marble of Face of Love during carving (Baiser de Bourdelle en cours de taille)

All that remains today of the marble shown here are these photographs taken in Bourdelle's studio. The marble itself is very likely the one entitled Face of Love, first exhibited at the Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts in 1899, and then again in May-June 1905 at the Galerie Hébrard in Paris, for the artist's first monographic exhibition. 
The contrast between the polish of the face and the raw material of the shoulders, a block of stone that had barely been carved away, is all the more striking when gouache is applied to the glass plate - a process that Bourdelle was in the habit of using. At the same time, Rodin, for whom Bourdelle worked as a praticien, was also playing with finished and non finito sculpture. From this bust with its languid pose, Bourdelle would “draw another thought”, as he himself put it, “carve a head of emotion, joy, voluptuousness, breathing in the scent of a magnolia or a rose” and transcribe a whole series of Kisses into other materials, such as porcelain, enamelled stoneware and bronze. He created Kiss of the Rose, Volubilis Kiss, Kiss Mask, Kiss with Braids, etc... So many rosebud lips to pick and faces to de-leaf. The ornamental femininity of Art Nouveau was adapted to all materials and all forms of expression, helping to subvert the hierarchy between the noble arts and decorative arts.

Jérôme Godeau