The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Head of Beethoven

Head of Beethoven

1891
(French, 1861–1929)
Overall: 59.2 x 42 x 52.1 cm (23 5/16 x 16 9/16 x 20 1/2 in.)

Description

A pioneer of modern sculpture, Antoine Bourdelle studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and worked as an assistant to Augustin Rodin, who greatly admired the younger artist’s work. In 1888 Bourdelle produced the first of a series of sculptural portraits of Ludwig van Beethoven, in which the artist orchestrated powerful billowing shapes to convey the creative spirit or genius of the composer. The artist inscribed a quote from Beethoven in the lower left: “My domain is the air; when the wind rises my soul swirls.”
  • 1960
    Carrie Moss Halle [1871–1965], Shaker Heights, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1960–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 8, 1991).
    CMA 1965: "Year in Review," Bulletin LII (November 1965), p. 152, repr. 140
    Year in Review: 1965. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 27-November 14, 1965).
  • {{cite web|title=Head of Beethoven|url=false|author=Emile Antoine Bourdelle|year=1891|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1960.82