File:Sarah Bernhardt at work on her 'Medée'.jpg

Identifier: memoriesofmylife00bern (find matches)
Title: Memories of my life : being my personal, professional, and social recollections as woman and artist
Year: 1907 (1900s)
Authors: Bernhardt, Sarah, 1844-1923
Subjects:
Publisher: New York : D. Appleton
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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f seven years, but wholooked more like nine. I had already had the workmen in to putup the scaffolding required to make it sufficiently stable to sus-tain the necessary weight. Enormous iron supports were fixedinto the plaster by bolts, and pillars of wood and iron whereverneeded. The skeleton of a large piece of sculpture looks likea giant trap put up to catch rats and mice by the thousand. I gave myself up to this enormous work with the courage ofignorance. Nothing discouraged me. Often I worked on tillmidnight, sometimes till four oclock in the morning. And asone, humble gas-burner was totally insufficient for working by.I had a crown or rather a silver circlet made, each bud of whichwas a candlestick with a candle burning, those of the backrow a little higher than those of the front; and with this help Iwas able to work almost without ceasing. I had no watch orclock in the room, as I wished to ignore time altogether. Thenmy maid wouldcome to seek me. How many times I have gone 288
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SARAH BERNHARDT AT WORK ON HER MEDEE. BUSY DAYS without lunch or dinner! Then I would perhaps faint and sobe compelled to send for something to eat to restore my strength. I had almost finished my group, but I had done neither thefeet nor the hands of the grandmother. She was holding herlittle dead grandson on her knees, but her arms had no hands andher legs had no feet. I looked in vain for the hands and the feetof my ideal, large and bony. One day when my friend Martelcame to see me at my studio and to look at this group which wasmuch talked of, I had an inspiration: Martel was big, and thinenough to make Death jealous. I watched him walking roundmy work. He was looking at it as a connoisseur. But / waslooking at him. Suddenly I said: My dear Martel, I beg you ... I beseech you ... topose for the hands and feet of my grandmother. He burst out laughing, and with perfectly good grace tookoff his shoes and took the place of my model. He came ten days running and gave me three hours eac

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