Fanny Bunand-sevastos (1905-1998), The Model In Bourdelle's Workshop

Fanny BUNAND-SEVASTOS (1905-1998) The Model in Bourdelle's Studio Facing Rodin's Walking Man Oil on canvas, signed lower right. Dimensions: 46 x 55 cm Dimensions with frame: 65 x 76 cm Fanny Bunand-Sevastos was the niece and student of Antoine Bourdelle. This work is a testament to a particular era; the high window on the left is a characteristic feature of Bourdelle's studio. While Bourdelle is known for his collection of antiquities, he also revealed himself as a lover of painting, continuing his work as a teacher. Bourdelle took an interest in young contemporary artists. At the 1927 Salon des Tuileries, he discovered the Yugoslavian artist Milo Milunović. He later became a major Serbian artist, founding the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade in 1937. Bourdelle acquired the Cubist-inspired still life he had admired at the 1927 Salon and hung it on the wall of one of his studios (the painting is located to the left of the work, see the last photo). Bourdelle admired Auguste Rodin, who was twenty years his senior. He worked for fifteen years as a stonemason, carving marble for Rodin. We recognize Auguste Rodin's Walking Man (on the right in the painting), given to Bourdelle by the Rodin Museum in 1928, in exchange for two busts of Rodin by Bourdelle.