Antoine BOURDELLE: Portrait of Beethoven, Lithograph and stencil signed

Antoine Bourdelle : (1861-1929) wasborn Émile Antoine Bordelles. He was an influent and prolific sculptor, painter and professor. He was born in Montauban in Tarn-et-Garonne. He left school aged 13 to work as a wood carver in his father's workshop. He learnt drawing with the founder of the Ingres Museum in Montauban, and then sculpture at the Toulouse school of Art. Aged 24, he entered the Ecole des Beaux Arts de Paris, worked briefly at the Alexandre Falguière studio, and visited Jules Dalou studio. In 1888 he made his first Beethoven sculptures, and became a pionnier for XXth century monumental sculptures. Auguste Rodin was a great admiror of his work, and made him his assistant in his studio, where he started teaching. Bourdelle received a lot of public commissions for monuments or memorials. He participated in the Armory Show in New York in 1913, and is the founder of the Salon des Tuileries. In 1909, he was named Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'Honneur, in 1919 he was promoted Officier, and in 1924 Commander. After his death, his studio became the Musée Bourdelle, a museum dedicated to his work, located in the 15th arrondissement of Paris.
Stencil : The stencil is a printing technique made using a cover (in zinc for example) that prevents paint or ink from flowing. The stencil is then applied to the printed proof by etching, lithography, screen printing or phototyping. Many stencils must be traced and cut to obtain an accurate reproduction of the work.