Bourdelle Museum visitor guide

Visit Bourdelle Museum, Paris

The Bourdelle Museum is a museum dedicated to the works of Antoine Bourdelle, sculptor, in the 15th arrondissement of Paris at 18 Rue Antoine Bourdelle where his studio was situated.

Discover the Bourdelle Museum

France This Way review: this is a quite remarkable museum, with a great deal of works by Antoine Bourdel - you may be unfamiliar with the artist but we urge you to visit the museum and learn more. It is a very interesting and impressive museum, and although it is not one of the famous museums in Paris it should be!

Antoine Bourdelle (1861-1929) is a renowned sculptor who was a student of Rodin and active at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, a time when the arts were just beginning to enter the period we refer to as "modern art", starting perhaps with Art Nouveau.

During your visit you will see a remarkable number of items displayed, both in the exhibition spaces and in the workshop of Bourdelle, as well as in the courtyard and garden areas. Many of these are monumental in size, which adds to their imposing effect. Items are in marble, wood, bronze and plaster.

In the artists studio you can see many paintings by the artist, as well as the furniture that is still in the exact positions it was when the artist worked here.

Our favourite room was the Hall of Plasters. This is a large open space with several monumental statues in plaster, typically the models for bronze statues, several of which you can see in the gardens. The architecture of the room, that was built in the 1960s, was based on the architecture of the Classical world, a period that also inspired the works of Bourdelle.

You will also a learn a great deal about the life of Bourdelle, and the processes used in the preparation of a large bronze sculpture, for example.

One important project carried out by Antoine Bourdelle was the interior and exterior decoration of the Champs-Elysees Theatre (at 15 Avenue Montaigne in the 8th arrondissement) between 1910 and 1912. This early art deco building features three large reliefs by Bourdelle on its facade, and several of the items in the museum are models for this project.

If you do not know the work of Antoine Bourdelle, I suggest you look through the photos in the gallery further down this page - you will see that there is great variety in the items, and significant influence from the sculptors of Ancient Rome and Greece.

It is interesting to note that from 1909 to 1929 taught sculpture at the Academy de la Grande Chaumière, with pupils including Alberto Giacometti. Several of his students were also his assistants, helping on the larger commissions and projects.

Bourdelle Museum visitor information

The permanent exhibition in the museum is free to enter, but there is a charge to see temporary exhibitions.

Although it is quite small, the museum is not very well known so usually not too busy. There is a cafe upstairs on the site with a view across the front courtyard.

The closest metro station to the museum is Falguière, on line 12 of the metro.

Attractions nearby

The Montparnasse area of Paris is not the most popular area of the city with tourists, but has a few sights of interest (the Bourdelle Museum is not actually within the borders of Montparnasse but the closeness of the Montparnasse Tower to the museum reminds you that it is very close!). These sights include the Montparnasse Tower with a rooftop gallery with exceptional views across the city, and the cemetery of Montparnasse, with the graves of such esteemed artists as Sartre & Beckett.

Other museums of interest near here include the Zadkine Museum, dedicated to the 20th-century sculptor Ossip Zadkine.

You can find more travel ideas in the Paris region guide.

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Photos of Bourdelle Museum

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Map of Bourdelle Museum and places nearby

Places to visit near Bourdelle Museum

Montparnasse Cemetery

The Montparnasse Cemetery is Paris' second largest cemetery and many well known figures are buried there including Jean-Paul Sartre.

Montparnasse Cemetery guide

Zadkine Museum

The Zadkine museum holds an excellent collection of work by the 20th century sculptor and painter.

Zadkine Museum guide

Jardin du Luxembourg

The Jardin du Luxembourg is one of the most extensive and most popular public parks in Paris

Jardin du Luxembourg guide

Rodin Museum

The Rodin Museum is an impressive museum in Paris dedicated to the works of the artist-sculptor

Rodin Museum guide

Catacombs

For a different side of Paris, explore the ancient catacombs in tunnels underneath the city

Catacombs guide

Church Saint-Germain-des-Prés

The Church Saint-Germain-des-Prés is an ancient (6th century origins) church in the Latin Quarter of Paris

Church Saint-Germain-des-Prés guide

The French version of this page is at Bourdelle Museum (Francais)