Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)

This work will be included in the forthcoming Auguste Rodin catalogue critique de l'oeuvre sculpté currently being prepared by the Comité Auguste Rodin at Galerie Brame et Lorenceau under the direction of Jérôme Le Blay under the archive number 2012-3946B.


Conceived circa 1881-1882, the original composition was created as an element at the top of the left pilaster of La porte de l'Enfer, where it crouches under folds of drapery above. Considered by critics at the time of its creation to be one of the master sculptor’s greatest works, the subject demonstrates his innovation in capturing not only the beauty of the human form but also imparting to it a psychological depth. With the urn upon her shoulder, the figure’s head is bent over by its weight. Pensive yet melancholic, she appears lost in her own world as if worn down by the physical burden itself. The spiraled, twisted shape of her body—with crossed arms, curving back and bent legs—not only demonstrates his modeling of the female form but encourages the viewer to regard her from all angles, each facet, protrusion and shadowing heightening the visual beauty of the bronze.
At the beginning of his creation of La porte de l'Enfer, Rodin was inspired by the work of Michelangelo, whom he greatly admired for the Florentine sculptor’s statuesque proportions and his ability to imbue his figures with emotional intensity. As Albert E. Elsen explained, “Fallen Caryatid is a work crucial in Rodin’s development, for it was made when he began to move away from Michelangelo’s influence as seen in Adam, Eve, and The Thinker. Rodin began to ask himself, ‘Why not work directly from life?’ The results contributed greatly to his reputation for originality, an explosive productivity in the early years of working on The Gates and an expansion of body language in sculpture” (op. cit., 2003, p. 232).