Last Saturday Gilles was set to watch an important Rugby match of his favorite team, from his hometown area of Clermont-Ferrand. Knowing that it would be a really good idea for us to be absent during the match, Mary, Laurie and I set off for Égreville, to see some beautiful countryside and to visit a garden of sculptures by Antoine Bourdelle.
Antoine Bourdelle worked in Paris in the late 1800s and early 1900s, until his death in 1929. He seems well known here, but I don’t think I’d heard of him before; but then, I am not well-versed in the world of sculpture, so my ignorance isn’t any reflection on Bourdelle’s place in the art world.
Anyway, when he died, his daughter and son-in-law, who lived in the small town of Égreville, about an hour south of Paris, created a beautiful garden with 56 of his sculptures and bas-reliefs. It really is a beautiful and peaceful place and it was a perfect afternoon outing for us.
Herakles, Antoine Bourdelle’s best known sculpture.
An amazing rose bush in the garden.
Laurie liked this sculpture of the famous dancer Isador Duncan best. It’s small – about 3 feet high – but we still couldn’t fit it into the car.
Isadora Duncan