Buste de Théophile Gautier, Bronze and marble bust in Jardin Massey, France

Buste de Théophile Gautier is a bronze portrait bust of the writer, set on a marble pedestal in the Jardin Massey in Tarbes. The head is modelled with naturalistic detail, and the pedestal carries the inscription identifying the sitter. It stands outdoors among the garden's paths and planting.

Théophile Gautier died in 1872; the bronze bust in the Jardin Massey was made by sculptor Henri Théophile Bouillon and erected in 1890, with Judith Gautier, the writer's daughter, involved in the project. It is listed among the unprotected objects of the Inventaire général du patrimoine culturel.

Théophile Gautier gave the name "sylphide" to the ballet La Sylphide, performed in Paris in 1832, and his 1835 novel Mademoiselle de Maupin was admired by later writers. The bust was made by sculptor Henri Théophile Bouillon with the writer's daughter Judith Gautier, herself a novelist and the first woman elected to the Académie Goncourt.

The bust stands in the Jardin Massey, the English-style landscape garden laid out by Placide Massey, director of the Tarbes botanical garden, and opened to the public in 1853. The garden lies northwest of the town centre, near the Musée Massey; the bust is one of several monuments scattered through its lawns and paths, so allow time to walk the grounds rather than expect it at the entrance.

The bust was conceived by Judith Gautier herself, who was establishing her own career as a writer and composer while creating this tribute to her father. Her involvement demonstrates how she balanced family heritage with her independent artistic pursuits.