Skip to main content

Visit Main Menu Block

  • Hours & Admission
  • Accessibility & Amenities
  • Tours & Group Visits
  • Visitor Guidelines

Exhibitions and Events Main Menu Block

  • Exhibitions
  • Events

Art and Design Main Menu Block

  • The Collection
  • Projects & Publications
  • Past Exhibitions

Footer Main

  • Become a Member
  • Give
  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Rent the Museum

Image

Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 / 7 Next

Auguste Rodin

Study for the Monument to Balzac, 1892

Now On View

Description

Maker

  • Auguste Rodin, 1840-1917, French

Title

Study for the Monument to Balzac

Year

1892

Medium

Bronze

Materials/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

Type

  • Sculpture

Credit

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

Object Number

66.057

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Intermission

December 16, 2016 - July 2, 2017

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

June 21 - September 29, 1996

Carvings, Casts, & Replicas

February 10 - April 23, 1995

European Painting and Sculpture, circa 1770-1937

October 18, 1991 - January 26, 1992

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Study for the Monument to Balzac with the accession number of 66.057. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

RISD Museum

  •  Facebook
  •  Twitter
  •  Instagram
  •  Vimeo
  •  Pinterest
  •  SoundCloud

Footer Main

  • Become a Member
  • Give
  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Rent the Museum

Footer Secondary

  • Image Request
  • Press Office
  • Rent the Museum
  • Terms of Use