AUGUSTE RODIN | SUZON

Private collection, Belgium

Conceived in 1875, Rodin's Suzon is a tribute to Albert Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, the great French master who had such an influence on Rodin's early work. Rodin worked in Carrier-Belleuse's studio from 1864 until 1871 and in this bust shows himself to be in complete command of the essence of his master's approach to feminine beauty. Like Carrier-Belleuse's own intimate busts of girls, Rodin's Suzon is reminiscent of eighteenth-century terracotta busts of women, and indeed the model was first produced in terracotta. Rodin sold the rights of reproduction in bronze to the Brussels-based foundry Compagnie des Bronzes, which proceeded to edit the model in three sizes with enduring success. Of precious, petite dimensions, the present bronze is a version of réduction no. 3. A closely comparable cast was sold at Christie's Paris on 29 March 2019 (lot 274).

RELATED LITERATURE

H.W. Janson and P. Fusco, Romantics to Rodin, p. 329, no. 190