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Auguste Rodin

Study for the Monument to Balzac
Now On View

Description

Maker

Auguste Rodin (French, 1840-1917)

Title

Study for the Monument to Balzac

Year

1892

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

bronze

Dimensions

127.6 x 52.1 x 62.9 cm (50 1/4 x 20 1/2 x 24 3/4 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Signed and inscribed, right base:Rodin orig. / Alexis Rudier, Fondeur, Paris

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Museum purchase with funds donated by the Museum Associates, Museum Members and Friends

Object Number

66.057

Type

Projects & Publications

Publications

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Intermission
Dec 16, 2016 – Jul 02, 2017

Label copy

This sculpture portrays French novelist Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) as a nude, corpulent figure in the stance of a wrestler. In 1891 Rodin was commissioned to make a statue of the author, to be installed at the Théâtre Français in Paris. Rodin immersed himself in Balzac’s writings, which were known for unvarnished descriptions of character, then examined photographs of Balzac, measured his clothing, and studied people of his native region in an effort to create a monument that exemplified the piercing realism of Balzac’s own work. Expecting a more dignified result, the sculpture’s sponsors were shocked by this confrontational portrait, and rejected it.

A Tribute from His Friends
Gifts in Memory of Daniel J. Robbins
Jun 21, 1996 – Sep 29, 1996
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

Use & Feedback

Image use

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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)
Study for the Monument to Balzac, 1892
Bronze
127.6 x 52.1 x 62.9 cm (50 1/4 x 20 1/2 x 24 3/4 inches)
Museum purchase with funds donated by the Museum Associates, Museum Members and Friends 66.057

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