Artist:
Auguste Rodin
Title:
Eve
Year:
1899
Adress:
Jardin des Tuileries
www.musee-rodin.fr:
In his design for The Gates of Hell, dating from 1881, Rodin wanted to place Adam and Eve either side of The Gates as pendants. He later described how he had started to model a large female figure when he had had to stop because his sitter, who was pregnant, could no longer pose for him. He did not exhibit this unfinished statue of Eve until 1899, by which time he felt bold enough to show his works in a fragmentary or incomplete state.
The rough surface of the skin, the lack of detail and the trace of the metal armature still visible on the right foot all attest to the fact that this was a work in progress that Rodin had decided to retain.
In the meantime, he had completed a small version of Eve,which was exhibited in 1882 and greeted with enthusiasm. The sensuality of her body, now very smooth, in strong contrast with the modesty of the gesture she makes by lowering her head and crossing her arms, made it extremely popular. Large numbers of this statue were produced in bronze, marble and terracotta.
www.metmuseum.org:
The Gates of Hell, a monumental portal for a projected Musee des Arts Decoratifs to be built on the site of what is now the Musee d'Orsay in Paris, was Rodin's first commission from the French government. In a letter to the Ministry of Fine Arts dated October 20, 1881, Rodin wrote:"…this door will be 4m 50 by 3m 50 in size, and comprise, besides bas reliefs, many figures almost in the round. In addition, two colossal figures will stand at either side of the gate…" A sketchbook in the Musee Rodin in Paris contains a study for The Gates flanked by standing figures. The two figures were not original to Rodin's plan, and they vanished quite early in its evolution, but they survive in the form of the larger than life-sized Adam and Eve. Their meaning is evident from their original context: on one side, Adam, the first man, slowly and with difficulty roused to life; on the other, Eve, in her shame, the source of mankind's fall from grace.
In his design for The Gates of Hell, dating from 1881, Rodin wanted to place Adam and Eve either side of The Gates as pendants. He later described how he had started to model a large female figure when he had had to stop because his sitter, who was pregnant, could no longer pose for him. He did not exhibit this unfinished statue of Eve until 1899, by which time he felt bold enough to show his works in a fragmentary or incomplete state.
The rough surface of the skin, the lack of detail and the trace of the metal armature still visible on the right foot all attest to the fact that this was a work in progress that Rodin had decided to retain.
In the meantime, he had completed a small version of Eve,which was exhibited in 1882 and greeted with enthusiasm. The sensuality of her body, now very smooth, in strong contrast with the modesty of the gesture she makes by lowering her head and crossing her arms, made it extremely popular. Large numbers of this statue were produced in bronze, marble and terracotta.
www.metmuseum.org:
The Gates of Hell, a monumental portal for a projected Musee des Arts Decoratifs to be built on the site of what is now the Musee d'Orsay in Paris, was Rodin's first commission from the French government. In a letter to the Ministry of Fine Arts dated October 20, 1881, Rodin wrote:"…this door will be 4m 50 by 3m 50 in size, and comprise, besides bas reliefs, many figures almost in the round. In addition, two colossal figures will stand at either side of the gate…" A sketchbook in the Musee Rodin in Paris contains a study for The Gates flanked by standing figures. The two figures were not original to Rodin's plan, and they vanished quite early in its evolution, but they survive in the form of the larger than life-sized Adam and Eve. Their meaning is evident from their original context: on one side, Adam, the first man, slowly and with difficulty roused to life; on the other, Eve, in her shame, the source of mankind's fall from grace.