To discover at the Gévaudan museum in Mende: two studies of musical stained glass windows by René Billa known as Richard Burgsthal

The Gifts of Janaka (Yadjnavalkya), by Richard Burgsthal, 1914. DR – DR

Les Dons de Janaka (Yadjnavalkya), par Richard Burgsthal, 1914. DR – DR

En partenariat avec le musée du Gévaudan de Mende, "Midi Libre" vous présente quelques œuvres exposées lors de l’exposition temporaire "300 ans de talent. Brueghel, Géricault, Delacroix, Rodin. Dialogue de collections Béziers-Mende".

Voici The Gifts of Janaka (Yadjnavalkya), 1914, and The City of Magic (Yadjnavalkya), 1914, by René Billa, known as Richard Burgsthal (1884, Nice – 1944, Juan-les-Pins). These are tempera on canvas.

Richard Burgsthal, whose real name is René Billa, is a self-taught painter and a French master glassmaker. A trained pianist, he was passionate about the work of the German composer Richard Wagner (1813-1883), and translated the visions that music inspired in him into painting.

For Fontfroide Abbey

His works possess a certain aesthetic power, with their sinuous lines, their colorful intensity and their visionary character. However, they remain confidential and are poorly represented in public collections. The most important collection is that of the Museums of Nice, deposited at the Museums of Béziers, which contains more than 4,000 works by the artist.

Here, two preparatory works for one of his most important commissions are presented: a set of decorations produced from 1912 for the Fontfroide Abbey near Narbonne. In this case, these are two “musical windows” painted for the music room, the monks' former dormitory. The theme is derived from an Indian-inspired opera composed by Rita Strohl, his wife.

Exhibition “300 years of talent. Brueghel, Géricault, Delacroix, Rodin. Dialogue of Collections Béziers-Mende”. On view at the Musée du Gévaudan until January 5, 2025, from Thursday to Sunday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. 3 rue de l’Épine in Mende; information: 04 66 49 85 85/www.musee-du-gevaudan.fr. Price: €0/€4 reduced price/€8 full price depending on your situation.

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