Auguste Rodin

The Antique Trading House, Copenhagen
Acquired by 1963 and thence by descent

Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, Alabama

Léon Maillard, Auguste Rodin, Statuaire, Paris, 1899, illustration of another version pp. 121-22
Georges Grappe, Catalogue du Musée Rodin, Paris, 1927, nos. 69-70, illustration of another version p. 42
Judith Cladel, Rodin, London, 1936, illustration of the marble version p. 97
Georges Grappe, Le Musée Rodin, Paris, 1944, no. 87, illustration of another version pl. 56.
Robert Descharnes & Jean-François Chabrun, Auguste Rodin, London & Melbourne, 1967, illustration of another version p. 134
Ionel Jianou & Cécile Goldscheider, Rodin, Paris, 1967, nos. 56-57, illustration of another cast pls. 56-57
John L. Tancock, The Sculpture of Auguste Rodin, Philadelphia, 1976, no. 32b, illustration of another version p. 246
Rodin (exhibition catalogue), Fondation Pierre Gianadda, Martigny, 1984, no. 63, illustration of another cast p. 111
Antoinette Le Normand-Romain, The Bronzes of Rodin, Catalogue of Works in the Musée Rodin, vol. I, Paris, 2007, no. S.777, illustration of another cast p. 334

This work is in excellent condition. The bronze features a two-toned patina, with light golden brown to the two figures and a deeper reddish-brown to the base. Minor surface dirt has accumulated in the deeper crevices. There is some very minor patina rubbing to the extremities.
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.

Éternel printemps is one of Rodin's most celebrated sculptures of the 1880s. The theme of embracing lovers preoccupied Rodin and calls to mind the story of Paolo and Francesca, Dante's mythical paramours who were condemned to spend eternity locked in a maelstrom of passion. For the figure of the woman Rodin used the highly sensual Torse d'Adèle, 1882, which was named after the model who posed for the sculptor. This form was first used to the left of the tympanum of the Gates of Hell and again later in La Chute d'un Ange, but it gained its greatest fame when it was united with the figure of the youthful male in the present work. When Rodin received a commission for the first of the marble versions in 1896, it became apparent that the outstretched left arm and right leg of the male figure, extending freely into space in the first state, would have to be modified. Consequently the base was enlarged to provide support for the leg and arm. 

Animated by the dazzling play of light on the surface and the sweeping upward movement of the man, the figures seem ready to take flight. As Ionel Jianou and Cécile Goldscheider have noted: "Rodin is an artist who can see and dares to express in all sincerity what he has seen. He discovers the enchantment of light and its resources, the vibration and intimate movement of surfaces and planes, the throb of passion that animates form. He uses 'highlights, heavy shadows, paleness, quivering, vaporous half-tones, and transitions so finely shaded that they seem to dissolve into air', giving his sculpture 'the radiance of living flesh'" (Ionel Jianou & Cécile Goldscheider, op. cit., p. 19).

From dealing with love in an allegorical way, Rodin began treating it in more human terms. As evident in the present work, there is a marked increase in the eroticism of his art and a corresponding growth in the daring movement of the poses which could be a reflection of the artist's studio practice allowing the models to move freely and independently. Rodin himself proclaimed: "Sculpture does not need to be original, what it needs is life. [...] I used to think that movement was the chief thing in sculpture and in all I did it was what I tried to attain. [...] Grief, joy, thoughts – in our art all becomes action" (quoted in Ionel Jianou & Cécile Goldscheider, ibid., pp. 19-20).