The Palais Galliera presents "Back Side / Fashion from Behind", an off-site exhibition at the Musée Bourdelle which focuses on clothing seen from behind.

In a society that is obsessed with people’s faces, "Back Side / Fashion from Behind" is an original and unexpected theme. By addressing our body’s relationship to clothing from a social and psychological point of view, the exhibition questions the perception we have of our own and other people’s backs.

Scale model of the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées by Antoine Bourdelle

With Bourdelle's 19th century studios and Christian de Portzamparc's modern extension from 1992, the Musée Bourdelle offers to its visitors a unique range of exhibition areas, along with welcoming gardens that are ideal for a relaxing stroll at the heart of the Montparnasse district.

From the intimacy of Bourdelle's apartment, where the artist worked, to the immensity of the Great Hall full of plaster casts bathed in soft light, visitors are free to follow their own path among the sculptor's work.

With Rodin and the sculptor Desbois, Antoine Bourdelle founded a free sculpture school in Montparnasse. In his attempt to find his own way, Bourdelle freed himself from the style of Rodin. His Tête d'Apollon (Head of Apollo) which he began that year, shows a different way of thinking : "I broke away from the accidental, in search of the permanent plane" (Bourdelle, Ecrits sur l'art et sur la vie - Writings on Art and Life).

The decade of 1919-1929 proved a time of great official commissions : La Vierge à l'offrande (The Virgin of the offering) (1919-1923) erected in Alsace and La France (France) (1925) in front of the Grand Palais for the Decorative Arts Exhibition. The Monument au général Alvéar (Monument to general Alvear) was inaugurated in Buenos Aires in 1926, and the Monument à Adam Mickiewic (Monument to Adam Mickiewic) in Paris, on 28 April 1929.

MUSÉE BOURDELLE, From July 5th to November 17th 2019

BACK SIDE / FASHION FROM BEHIND AT MUSÉE BOURDELLE, PARIS