Auguste RODIN (1850-1917) - Lot 19

Auguste RODIN (1850-1917) Iris messagère des Dieux, with head, 1890-1891 Patinated bronze proof, signed, dated 1972, stamped Musée Rodin, stamped Susse fondeur Paris and numbered 8 H : 49 cm L : 40 cm Fonts produced by the Musée Rodin from 1969 onwards Bibliography: - "The sculpture of Auguste Rodin", John L Tancock,Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1976, reproduced on pages 288 and 291 - Rodin", Laurent Monique, Éditions Chêne-Hachette, Paris, 1988, reproduced on pages 110 and 111 Exhibitions: - Auguste Rodin", Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico, May-June, 1982, Cat. N°71 (another bronze) - Rodin Sculptures", New-Dehli, Bombay, Calcutta, November 1982-June 1983 Cat. N°75 (other bronze) - Rodin", Fondation Pierre Gianadda, Martigny, May 12-October 7 1984, Cat. N°69 (other bronze) - Camille Claudel-Auguste Rodin, dialogues d'artistes- résonances", Bern Kunstmuseum, March 16-May 19, 1985, Cat. N°43 (other bronze) - Auguste Rodin", National Museum of Modern Art, Seoul, July 25-August 29, 1985, Cat. N°34 (other bronze) - Rodin", Nagoya, Himeji, Kure..., October 4 1985-August 27 1986, Cat. N°64 (other bronze) - Rodin, sculptures et aquarelles", Musée Toulouse-Lautrec, Albi, June 20-September 6, 1987, Cat. N°12 (other bronze) - Rodin, 150th anniversary of his birth, Miyagi, Sapporo, Ibarragi, 1990, Cat. N°29 (other bronze) - Rodin Sculpteur, OEuvres méconnues", Musée Rodin, Paris, November 24 1992-April 11 1993, Cat. N°133 (other bronze) From La Porte de l'Enfer, where she lay on her back, Iris was worked around 1891 to crown the Monument à Victor Hugo, then given wings and placed in a plunging position in the second Monument à Victor Hugo of 1897. In 1894, enlarged, straightened and placed in a vertical position, it was cast by A. Rudier. She was photographed around 1896-1898 in front of La Porte de l'Enfer. In mythology, Iris is the link between the world of men and that of the gods. Under the name of Iris, messenger of the gods, the work is at once symbolist and mythological, but also assumes a strong formal presence. The position chosen by Rodin is reminiscent of Gustave Courbet's L'Origine du monde (Musée d'Orsay, Paris), which provoked scandal and fascination. Aerial and dynamic, the work also suggests the dance movements of the French cancan, or the gymnast's sprawl. Some versions of the work, or later casts, feature a head like our own. These may be study or intermediate versions, where Rodin had begun with a complete figure, or posthumous reconstructions or variants made by his collaborators or workshops after his death, sometimes for more decorative purposes or to meet market demand.