Emile Bourdelle left school at the age of 13 to work as a wood carver in his father's cabinet making shop. He learned drawing with the founder of the Ingres Museum in Montauban, then sculpture at the art school in Toulouse. At the age of 24 he won a scholarship to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

In 1888 he did his first sculptures of Beethoven, producing authoritative work with an emphasis on order, the spirit of geometry, construction and invention. He became one of the pioneers of 20th century monumental sculpture. Auguste Rodin became a great admirer of his work and in 1893 Antoine Bourdelle joined Rodin as his assistant where he soon became a popular teacher, both there and at his own studio where many future prominient artists attended his classes, so that his influence on sculpture was considerable.

Hercules the Archer

Hercules the Archer, is Bourdelle’s best known work. It is a magnificent modern rendition of the labor of Hercules in which he killed the Symphronian Birds with his bow.