Collection of Beethoven bronzes by Antoine Bourdelle come to auction for first time
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Friday, October 4, 2024


Collection of Beethoven bronzes by Antoine Bourdelle come to auction for first time
Among the sale’s highlights is Beethoven à Deux Mains (Lot 9, $80,000-120,000).



PHILADELPHIA, PA.- On October 21st, Freeman’s will celebrate Ludwig van Beethoven’s 250th birthday by offering a collection of 12 portrait bronzes of the composer by French sculptor Antoine Bourdelle, one of the most talented pupils of Auguste Rodin. This one-of-a-kind collection traces his evolution as an artist.

“What better way to celebrate Beethoven’s legacy than through the sculptures of Antoine Bourdelle,” says Freeman’s chairman Alasdair Nichol, “one of the artists who was the most influenced by the music, and overall persona, of the composer.”

SINGLE-OWNER COLLECTION MAKES ITS DEBUT
Freeman’s will present these bronzes, which have never been on the market before. Collector Robert A. Becker began acquiring them in the early 1970s when he met the artist’s daughter, Rhodia Dufet-Bourdelle, in Paris. She sold Becker and his wife one or two bronzes every year after.




This culminated in the impressive collection Freeman’s is now offering at auction for the first time. Among the sale’s highlights is Beethoven à Deux Mains (Lot 9, $80,000-120,000). The piece portrays Beethoven as the image of a true tormented genius. Seven other bronze casts of this work were made, as well as one granite version, which is in the collection of the Musée Bourdelle in Paris.

BUILDING THE MYTHOS OF BEETHOVEN
Beethoven dit Métropolitain (Lot 7, $20,000-30,000) is another featured bronze. Standing an impressive forty inches high, the sculpture is one of Bourdelle’s most accomplished portraits of Beethoven. This was also the first one ever purchased by the French government (it is now in the Musée D’Orsay).

Meanwhile, both Beethoven, La Joue Appuyée sur une Main (Lot 1, $20,000-30,000) and Beethoven aux Grands Cheveux (Lot 5, $20,000-30,000) emphasize Beethoven’s infamously wild hair. They also remind viewers how influential Bourdelle was in constructing the mythos of Beethoven.

INSPIRED BY BEETHOVEN’S ORIGINAL LIFE MASK
Several works inspired by Beethoven’s original life mask are featured in the sale (see Lot 2, $6,000-10,000; Lot 3, $4,000-6,000; Lot 4, $10,000-15,000). Also of note is La Pathétique (Lot 12, $5,000-8,000). Made in 1929, the year of Bourdelle’s death, it is the very last bronze the artist produced of Beethoven.










Today's News

October 8, 2020

Laisun Keane opens a solo exhibition of works by transdisciplinary artist Nicki Green

Artists have final victory in a case of destroyed graffiti

The Snite Museum of Art announces important acquisitions to its Mesoamerican collection

Seen Jurassic Park? T-Rex skeleton brings $31.8 million at Christie's

Replacement objects in "Good as Gold: Fashioning Senegalese Women" at the North Carolina Museum of Art

Brooklyn Museum unveils new Decorative Arts Galleries

Blood, passion and captivity: Gentileschi's life is in her paintings

Freeman's auction for the collection of Dr. Henry & Mrs. Fannie Levine achieves just under $1 million

Georgia museum makes major American folk art acquisition

Hindman breaks record for top lot sold at auction as results soar beyond pre-sale estimates

Bonhams promotes Jacqueline Towers-Perkins to Vice President, Director of Contemporary Art in New York

Boxed Machine Man sets new world auction record at $160,000

Sotheby's Hong Kong Jewellery Autumn sales total US$55 million

Orange County Museum of Art celebrates major building milestone "Topping Out"

Dallas Museum of Art names Paintings Conservation Center to honor conservator Inge-Lise Eckmann Lane

NGV announces more than 100 artists and designers for NGV Triennial 2020

Yinka Shonibare CBE announced for Government Art Collection commission

Renowned author and Holocaust survivor Ruth Klueger dies at 88

Philbrook Museum of Art opens groundbreaking exhibition of Native women artists

Johnny Nash, who sang 'I Can See Clearly Now', dies at 80

Steve McQueen opens London Film Festival with racially-charged drama

Thomas Dane Gallery opens an exhibition of works by Alexandre da Cunha

Collection of Beethoven bronzes by Antoine Bourdelle come to auction for first time

Yemen's mini-libraries: 'a candle in the dark'

How does a Wedding Singer Singapore help to uplift your wedding live band?

Top 5 things to do in Nepal

Art in the Hospitality Industry

Major benefits of escalators and their uses by La Grazia Escalators and Moving walks Company

Forthcoming Artistic Biennales Unmasking the Global Dilemmas




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Holistic Dentist
Abogado de accidentes

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful