The Musée Bourdelle, the museum-studio dedicated to the work of the famous French sculptor located in the heart of the 14th arrondissement of Paris, reopens its doors on March 15, 2023. This renovation, undertaken by the City of Paris and Paris Musées, will have lasted two years, including seven months of total closure of the museum. It will have allowed the restoration of the sculptor's studio but also a complete rethinking of the collections, supported by innovative mediation, and the opening of a new café-restaurant named Le Rhodia, the first name of Bourdelle's daughter.
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After seven months of total closure of the museum, one can now discover the completely redesigned and refurbished spaces, supported by an innovative mediation. In addition to the restoration of thesculpture studio, the renovation has allowed for a complete rethinking of the collections' itinerary, with a new scenography and a redesigned mediation offer to allow a better understanding of Bourdelle's work.
The collection tour, which is now denser, presents Bourdelle's work from a chronological and thematic perspective, with a contextualization that allows for a better understanding of the works and their context of creation. Visitors will also be able to discover works by Bourdelle's contemporaries and students, both from the Bourdelle Museum's own collections and from new deposits generously granted by institutions and private collections.
Another new feature, which is not to our displeasure, is the opening of a café-restaurant called Le Rhodia in place of the former apartment of Rhodia Dufet-Bourdelle, the sculptor's daughter. This space, which was transformed in 1947 by Michel Dufet, master of Art Deco, offers us large windows overlooking the famous hidden interior garden. A garden that conceals many treasures. We can't wait to settle down there on March 28, 2023, to enjoy its luminosity and its view. The space has been redesigned by SAME architects, who have respected the spirit of Dufet's decor while combining contemporary pieces. It features a beautiful, large L-shaped terrace overlooking the front garden, part of which is sheltered.
The renovation, carried out by ABN Architects of Malakoff, also allowed for the restoration of thesculpture studio, which was kept in sanctuary by Bourdelle's wife after his death, until its donation to the City of Paris in 1947. We can thus discover the place of work and creation of the sculptor, in a layout faithful to the spirit of Bourdelle.
After the conservation work, the furniture and the emblematic works of the museum were restored and put back in place as they were before the work. This includes the Dying Centaur, the marble torso of Pallas and the bust of Michel Cognacq. Some of the bronze sculptures added after the artist's death have been replaced by sculptures visible in period photographs, such as Beethoven with Two Hands, Jeanne Prinet, Women and Roses and The Nurse.
The studio finds the Christ hanging and the medieval busts of bishops and the Virgin reinstalled in their original place, on the cleaned beam that we rediscover. Small sculptures take place in the mezzanine window and the textiles have been redone in the original spirit. The grey cupboard, left open when the workshops opened in 1938, has been left open so that visitors can discover the small works in clay and plaster that it contains.
Finally, the renovation also allowed for the creation of a new techniques room, offering a 60 square meter display of devices around the process of making the works and the workshop's trades. Visitors will be able to discover the different stages in the creation of a work of art, thanks to a vast wall of manipulations combining original works to touch, materials, playful devices, sound and digital.
The renovation of the Bourdelle Museum is therefore a real success, offering visitors a new space for discovering and understanding Bourdelle's work, as well as a pleasant and friendly restoration site. The work of saving and consolidating the oldest building was carried out with respect for the architectural heritage, a witness to the time of Antoine Bourdelle.
For the record, it was in 1885 thatAntoine Bourdelle, the famous French sculptor, took up residence at 16 Impasse du Maine. He left behind him a studio-museum nestled in the 15th arrondissement, a stone's throw from the Montparnasse district.
In accordance with the artist's wishes, his collections are housed in the studios where he worked and lived. This makes the Bourdelle Museum a place full ofhistory andauthenticity that allows us to dive into the intimacy of the visionary sculptor.
The museum's Great Hall, built in 1961 by architect Henri Gautruche for the 100th anniversary of Bourdelle's birth, delights fans ofarchitecture and sculpture with the monumental portion of Bourdelle's plaster work. There are also works inspired by Ancient Greece, its gods and heroes.
Thinkers will be pleased to be able to stroll along the garden on the street, where the four figures of the Monument to General Alvéar (1913-1923) - Liberty, Strength, Victory, and Eloquence - are displayed. On the inner garden side, in the familiar maze of the studios: we like to discover Bourdelle's bronzes!
Note that for the reopening, we can discover a new exhibition of Philippe Cogné, devoted to the painting after. If this temporary exhibition is paying, it is not the same for the museum whose permanent spaces are in free access all year long. The museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm.
Ready to rediscover the Bourdelle Museum?
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Rhodia, the café-restaurant of the Bourdelle Museum arrives
The Bourdelle Museum reopens its doors after several months of work, and unveils a new café-restaurant to be discovered as of March 28, 2023, within the former workshops of the famous sculptor. Named Le Rhodia in homage to Antoine Bourdelle's daughter, this spot promises an original and comforting menu, inspired by the artist's life. [Read more]
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The Bourdelle Museum unveils an exhibition to discover for its reopening, from March 15 to July 16, 2023, on Philippe Cognée. Named 'La peinture d'après', this exhibition reviews the work of this figurative painter. [Read more]
Location
Musée Bourdelle
16/18, rue Antoine Bourdelle
75015 Paris 15
Prices
Free
Recommended age
For all
Official website
www.bourdelle.paris.fr
More informations
Le musée est ouvert du mardi au dimanche de 10h00 à 18h00.
