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Auguste Rodin

The Hand of God
Now On View

Maker

Auguste Rodin (French, 1840-1917)

Title

The Hand of God

Year

designed ca. 1898; carving completed ca. 1917

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

marble

Dimensions

100.3 x 82.6 x 68 cm (39 1/2 x 32 1/2 x 26 3/4 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Signed, on base beneath thumb:A. Rodin

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Museum Appropriation Fund

Object Number

23.005

Type

Provenance

1916 or 1917-1923, Purchased from the artist by Samuel P. Colt; 1923, Purchased by (RISD Museum), Providence, RI

Publications

Articles

Hand of the Maker

Exhibition History

European Galleries
Sep 02, 2017

Label copy

The hand emerging from this block of rough-hewn marble represents the hand of God forming Adam and Eve. Its scale and energy contrast dramatically with the delicate bodies intertwined in a primal embrace, connecting Rodin’s interests in realism and symbolism. While evoking the act of a divine creator, Rodin also suggested his own identity as an artist and worker whose hand modeled life from stone.

One of three known marble versions, this work was purchased directly from Rodin by the Rhode Island industrialist and politician Samuel P. Colt and acquired by the Museum after Colt’s death.

Intermission
Dec 16, 2016 – Jul 02, 2017

Label copy

The hand emerging from this block of rough-hewn marble represents the hand of God forming Adam and Eve. Its scale and energy contrast dramatically with the delicate bodies intertwined in a primal embrace, connecting Rodin’s interests in realism and symbolism. While evoking the act of a divine creator, Rodin also suggests his own identity as an artist and worker whose hand models life from stone.

One of three known marble versions, this work was purchased directly from Rodin by the Rhode Island industrialist and politician Samuel P. Colt and acquired by the Museum after Colt’s death.

Carvings, Casts, & Replicas
Nineteenth-Century Sculpture from Europe & America in New England Collections
Feb 10, 1995 – Apr 23, 1995
European Painting and Sculpture, circa 1770-1937
Oct 18, 1991 – Jan 26, 1992

Image use

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Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Auguste Rodin (French, 1840-1917)
The Hand of God, designed ca. 1898; carving completed ca. 1917
Marble
100.3 x 82.6 x 68 cm (39 1/2 x 32 1/2 x 26 3/4 inches)
Museum Appropriation Fund 23.005

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