Paintings by Rhodia Dufet Bourdelle

Daughter of the sculptor Antoine Bourdelle, Rhodia Dufet Bourdelle (1911-2002) made it her life’s work to pass on and disseminate her father's work. She helped her mother Cléopâtre with the museum project, which came to fruition in 1949, and then became involved in the life of the institution, from selling bronzes to organising exhibitions of the winners of the “Bourdelle Award”. Her marriage to interior designer Michel Dufet in 1947 gave her the support she needed, particularly following the death of Cléopâtre in 1972. 
Encouraged by her father, Rhodia began painting as a child, mainly river scenes and still lifes. Some of her paintings were exhibited at the Salon d'Automne and the Salon des Indépendants in the 1950s. One of her paintings, bought by the French State in 1953, is now held in Caudry Town Hall.
When she died in 2002, Rhodia Dufet Bourdelle bequeathed a considerable collection of her father's works to the Museum, making the City of Paris her sole legatee and Antoine Bourdelle's successor in title.

Charlotte Azam