{"product_id":"monumental-huge-30l-new-york-city-skyline-painting-bourdelle-maloubier-1957","title":"Monumental, Huge 30'L New York City Skyline Painting, Bourdelle, Maloubier, 1957","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is one of those pieces that still feels slightly… unhinged to be talking about like it’s a normal thing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBecause it’s not.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a 1957 painting by Pierre Bourdelle, created in collaboration with Jacques Maloubier, and it measures a completely unreasonable almost 10 feet tall by 30 feet wide. That is not a typo. That is not an exaggeration. That is roughly the size of a billboard. The kind of scale that makes you question your life choices while you’re standing next to it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI genuinely don’t know how this ended up in my possession, and I mean that in the most respectful, slightly bewildered way possible. This is the kind of work you expect to encounter in a museum, or in a civic building with terrazzo floors and a docent who won’t let you get too close.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd yet… here we are.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter spending time with it (because you have to—this thing does not allow for a casual glance), it reveals itself as a sweeping, most cinematic depiction of the New York City skyline. At the center, glowing like it knows it’s the main character, is the New York Central Building rendered in a warm golden tone. In the foreground, the New York Central Railroad cuts through with that rhythmic, almost hypnotic geometry—movement, industry, ambition, all of it. And off to the left, is St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church anchoring the composition with a kind of quiet, architectural calm.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt’s New York, but seen through a European lens. Slightly romanticized. Slightly stylized. Entirely intentional.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd then—because Bourdelle clearly had a sense of humor—there’s the detail that absolutely seals it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTucked near the artists’ signatures is a small scene: a mouse preparing to drop a brick on a cat. Yes. That is actually in this massive, museum-scale work. This was confirmed during authentication by Peter Bourdelle, Pierre’s son, who shared that his father had a deep affection for the Krazy Kat comic strip and would often weave that motif into his work. It’s subtle, it’s mischievous, and once you see it, you can’t unsee it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhich somehow makes this enormous, serious, architectural piece feel… human.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePierre Bourdelle, for context, was not casually painting oversized canvases for fun. He was a French muralist and artist deeply involved in large-scale public and architectural commissions, most notably contributing to the interior works of Cincinnati’s Union Terminal—one of the great Art Deco landmarks in the United States. His work there, along with other major commissions including projects tied to international exhibitions and Olympic-related installations, reflects a practice rooted in scale, storytelling, and an understanding of how art lives within space. His compositions weren’t meant to decorate—they were meant to define environments.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJacques Maloubier, his collaborator here, operated in a similar realm—working at the intersection of fine art and large-format design, where the line between painting and architecture starts to blur. Together, they created works that feel less like objects and more like experiences.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis painting has been authenticated by Peter Bourdelle, which is not something you take lightly with a piece of this magnitude. It confirms not only its authorship, but the intention behind it—and even that wonderfully strange Krazy Kat reference tucked inside.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom a practical standpoint, the piece is currently on canvas and will need to be stretched onto a frame. I can absolutely coordinate that here in Los Angeles with a trusted professional if needed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut let’s be honest—this is not a practical object.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is not something you hang because you need art on a wall.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is something you build a wall around.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSomething you design a room for.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSomething that shifts the entire gravity of a space the moment it enters.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBecause pieces like this don’t just exist quietly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThey arrive, take over, and politely (or not so politely) let everything else know it’s been demoted.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you’ve ever wanted to own something that feels like it slipped out of a museum, bypassed every logical checkpoint, and somehow landed in your orbit…\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ethis is that moment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e(Human for scale in one of the photos. I'd have loved to photograph this beauty in my showroom, but it's just too big for any of my walls. Such an incredible piece!)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HabitatGallery","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46968931188905,"sku":null,"price":78000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0688\/0575\/5049\/files\/f_49535182_1775346637166_bg_processed.jpg?v=1775489653","url":"https:\/\/habitat-gallery.com\/products\/monumental-huge-30l-new-york-city-skyline-painting-bourdelle-maloubier-1957","provider":"HabitatGallery","version":"1.0","type":"link"}