Émile Antoine Bourdelle (1861-1929) Project for the monument to the poet Auguste Quercy (1853-1899) Circa 1911 Preparatory sketch in plaster Titled and dedicated "Auguste Quercy / 1854-1899, His friends / His admirers". Height Height: 62 cm (Damage and missing parts) Related works : - Emile Antoine Bourdelle, Auguste Quercy, 1884, etching, H.30X22 cm, Montauban, Musée Ingres-Bourdelle, n°inv. MI 95.2.1 ; -Emile Antoine Bourdelle, Auguste Quercy, 1885, bust, original model, signed, H.61 cm, bears the dedication: "Au Poète A. To the poet A. Quercy / Where are we going? and who can say? / Launched by Fate under the immense blue sky / Poor arrows from God's invisible bow / Should we bless everything? should we curse everything? Should we curse everything? /Emile Bourdelle", Toulouse, musée des Augustins , n°inv. 88 5 1 ; - Emile Antoine Bourdelle, Quercy Monument maquette, plaster, dim. 62 x 16,5x 19 cm, bears the dedication: Auguste Quercy / 1853-1899/ ses amis / ses admirateurs, Paris, musée Bourdelle, MBPL3982 ; - Emile Antoine Bourdelle, Auguste Quercy, bust in patinated plaster, signed and dedicated "à l'ami / au poète Quercy ; EMILE ANTOINE / BOURDELLE / 1911", H.87cm, Montauban, Musée Ingres-Bourdelle, n°inv. MI.54.7.1 ; - Emile Antoine Bourdelle, Auguste Quercy, bronze bust, cast by Rudier, dedicated on the sculpture: "ami au poète Quercy", followed by the artist's signature: Emile-Antoine Bourdelle 1911; on the base: "Auguste Quercy 1853-1899, ses amis, ses admirateurs, Montauban, jardin des Plantes, allées du Consul Dupuy". Related literature: -Viguier Florence, "Une amitié gravée : Bourdelle et Quercy";, in Bulletin du musée Ingres, n°69, 1996, p. 73-82 ,p. 77 (work, now lost), p. 79 and fig. 5, 6 and 7 -Bourdelle et Montauban, Exposition à l'occasion du centième anniversaire de la naissance de l'artiste à Montauban, Montauban, musée Ingres, 1961 (n°65) , Lafrançaise, 1999 Several portraits of Auguste Quercy by Emile Antoine Bourdelle bear witness to the two artists' close friendship. As early as 1884, the sculptor produced engraved and modelled portraits of the poet (cf Portrait à l'eau forte dating from 1884 and bust in patinated plaster dating from 1885, kept at the Musée des Augustins in Toulouse under numbers n°inv. MI 95.2.1 and n°inv. 88 5 1 ). The idea of a monument to the poet Auguste Quercy arose following his death in 1899, a project led by Antoine Bourdelle and Jules Quercy. The funds were raised thanks to the Escolo Carcinolo, the association of félibres of Tarn-et-Garonne previously created by Auguste Quercy. Our patinated plaster is a preparatory work for the monument project, like the bust of Auguste Quercy in patinated plaster dating from 1911 and kept at the Musée Ingres-Bourdelle in Montauban (n°inv. MI.54.7.1). The final work does not feature the bust of the poet on a narrow, high pedestal. The site chosen for the monument was the Jardin des Plantes in Montauban. Inaugurated in October 1911, the bust is still preserved there today.