Bust of Madame Michelet

The face inspired by Madame Michelet was produced from memory, after the sudden death of the model.

The letters that she exchanged with Bourdelle give us some insight: "For the bust, you will follow your inspiration, which will be right. When we are together, and I'm not thinking about it, you must observe which of my airs or expressions are the most usual, and then fix the one you like best."

Her face is framed with a scatter of roses, recalling her gardening talents. The soft rose motif is repeated in the hair, with curls and rosebuds intermingling. The treatment is typical of the decorative style around 1900.

The direct carving technique, with the figure emerging from the block, remains rare in Bourdelle's works. He abandoned it completely in the 1900s. The figure literally emerges from the marble in the manner of a Rodin, leaving numerous parts unworked. This practice of incompleteness emphasises the spontaneity of the artist, who carved the block in three days.

Born in Montauban, Athénaïs Mialaret married the famous historian Jules Michelet. She was an old friend and patron of Bourdelle, and, after her death, he paid tribute to her by producing this bust. He included a book, as a sign of Athénaïs' collaboration in the works written by her husband, the titles of which are indicated on the work: “A Madame Michelet Les mémoires d'une enfant collaboratrice à L'Oiseau L'Insecte L'Amour la montagne” ["To Madame Michelet The memoirs of a child who collaborated in The Bird The Insect Love, the mountain"]