Lot 186
  • 186

Auguste Rodin

Estimate
500,000 - 700,000 USD
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Description

  • Auguste Rodin
  • L'Orpheline Alsacienne, version à la tête droite
  • Inscribed A. Rodin and dated 1870
  • Marble
  • Height: 11 1/8 in.
  • 28.2 cm

Provenance

Private American Collection (acquired before 1940)
Private Collection (by descent from the above and sold: Sotheby's, New York, May 8, 2008, lot 182)
Acquired at the above sale

Literature

Cécile Goldscheider, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre sculpté, vol. I, Paris, 1989, no. 35, illustrations of other versions in marble, plaster & terracotta p. 59
Antoinette Le Normand-Romain, The Bronzes of Rodin, Catalogue of Works in the Musée Rodin, vol. I, Paris, 2007, p. 130

Condition

The work is mounted to a marble base which has a few scattered chips. The work itself has recently been lightly cleaned. There are 3 small nicks on back of figure's head scarf. There is a crystal inclusion over the figure's right eye and three small depressions on the right cheek which are inherent in the stone and not a condition problem. Multiple caliper marks are visible on left side of figure's face. Overall the work is in very good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

By 1864, Rodin was employed by the sculptor Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse to whom Napoleon III and Baron Hausmann had awarded extensive commissions. Under Hausmann's direction, the urban renewal of Paris required architectural sculptures for the newly constructed buildings. Rodin respected the work of Carrier-Belleuse and sculpted for his studio until 1870.

Rodin executed a number of portrait busts between 1865 and 1870, many of unknown subjects but predominantly of women. Discussing the series of busts, John L. Tancock writes: "These works are remarkable for their elegance, charm, and the brio of their execution. They are also a signal proof of the young Rodin's astonishing facility,
his ability to express himself with felicity in any number of syles'" (John L. Tancock, The Sculpture of Auguste Rodin, Philadelphia, 1976, p. 576).

L'Orpheline alsacienne
was a great critical success when it was first exhibited in 1871, and Rodin issued a number of new versions in 1880, some in marble and some in terracotta. There are two known versions of this sculpture and this one, with the head turned to the right, is less common in marble. The other version with tilted head was reproduced in greater numbers, probably at a later date. The subject of the Alsatian child is notable for 1871 given the loss of the Alsace and Lorraine provinces during the Franco-Prussian war in 1870. Carrier-Belleuse and Rodin both executed busts of Alsatian women in perhaps a nostalgic nod to these territories.

It is highly probable that this work is one of the early versions, dating to circa 1871. The quality of this carving and the precision of the details of the drapery make it especially compelling. There are currently marble versions of L'Orpheline alsacienne in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Reims, the Foundation Salomon de Rothschild, Paris, and the Musée Rodin, Paris.