Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)
Lot 263

Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)

Frère et souer

Closed6 November 2008

Price Realised

USD 116,500

More Information

How to sell

Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)
Frère et souer
signed, dated and inscribed with foundry mark 'A. Rodin c by musée Rodin 1963. .Georges Rudier..Fondeur.Paris.' (on the side of the base); with raised signature 'A. Rodin' (on the underside)
bronze with brown and green patina
Height: 15 1/8 in. (38.4 cm.)
Conceived circa 1890-1891; this bronze version cast in 1965

Musée Rodin, Paris.
Dominion Gallery, Montreal (acquired from the above, June 1965).
Private collection, Montreal.
Acquired from the above by the present owner.

Specialist note

This work will be included in the forthcoming Auguste Rodin catalogue critique de l'oeuvre sculpté currently being prepared by the Comité Rodin at Galerie Brame et Lorenceau under the direction of Jérôme Le Blay under the archive number 2008-2029B.

Frère et soeur is unusual within Rodin's oeuvre for its treatment of the subject of sibling love. While a possible prototype for the infant can be found in Idylle d'Ixelles, executed in 1876 when Rodin was in Belgium and known to have modeled numerous studies of children, the young girl is an homage to the work of his pupil and lover, Camille Claudel. Around 1886, Claudel sculpted Jeune fille à la gerbe (Paris, no. 19), which Rodin admired for her graceful, slender body and the tenderness evoked by her pose. He was inspired by this sculpture to create the beautiful Galatée (Tancock, no. 25-4) sitting on a rock, which he then incorporated in Frère et soeur. Around 1890 Rodin transformed these two figures into the present young girl embracing her younger brother, who, in resisting her affection, creates a scene notable for its freshness of inspiration.