Like many artists of his time, Antoine Bourdelle took an interest in Asian art from an early age. He was particularly drawn to Buddhist art. Between 1874 and 1876, he repaired ‘complex sculptures from Japan and China’ in his father's cabinet-making workshop in Montauban. He later discovered Buddhist statuary at the 1900 Universal Exposition in Paris.
His collection reflects this taste. It includes: a Japanese statue of Daruma in lacquered wood (MBCO558); a Buddha statuette (MBCO610); the cast of a bas-relief from Prambanan Temple (Java) entitled Draped Figures in an Attitude of Respect) (MBCO004); Japanese prints, and a large number of photographs of Buddhist shrines.
During a trip to London, Bourdelle copied Hindu frescoes at the India Museum (e.g. MBD4536). The Hindu relief Ardhanarishvara comes from a procession float. In Southern India, particularly in Tamil Nadu, the temples have monumental floats that carry bronze divine images in processions. These floats are covered with wooden panels depicting mythological scenes. In the 19th century, Westerners started collecting these panels (which are still produced today). There are a large number of them in the Musée Guimet.
Ardhanarishvara, ‘the half-female Lord’, is an androgynous avatar of the god Shiva, combining the image of the god with that of his consort Parvati. The figure is standing in a classic Indian pose, leaning on the bull Nandin. Two small devotees complete the composition.
Bourdelle hung this wooden ornament in the painting studio, on the wall next to the window, as shown in a photograph of the artist around 1905-1915 (MBPV3502).
Valérie Montalbetti Kervella
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