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Lot Essay
L'éternel printemps was one of Rodin's most popular compositions and one of the sculptor's greatest commercial successes. Also entitled Zéphyr et la terre and L'amour et Pysché, it was exhibited at the Salon of 1897. Originally intended as a figural grouping for the La porte de l'enfer, the tone of that commission evolved into a more tragic representation and the amorous couple was not included in the final version. However, as with many of his great figural groupings, Rodin drew upon characters from earlier works. The figure of the woman is based on Torse d'Adèle, which appears on the top left corner of the tympanum of the La porte de l'enfer.
The present bronze was cast by the foundry Thiébaut Frères and represents the first state of this composition. John Tancock in The Sculpture of Auguste Rodin compares the two separate states:
In what must be the first version of this work, the out-stretched arm and the overhanging leg of the male figure and the apparent instability of the encounter of the two figures recall Rodin's comtemporary experiments with the Gates of Hell...In purely sculptural terms the first version is superior to the second since the freely floating arm and leg give to it an élan that the second bronze version does not have (J. Tancock, op. cit, p. 246).
The Thiébaut Frères foundry was active in Paris from 1878 to 1901, perpetuating a tradition of excellence in art founding back to Charles Thiébaut, creator of the dynasty in 1787. In 1901, the Thiébaut Frères foundry merged with Charles Fumière and André Gavignot who cast then for Rodin only under the name of 'Fumière et Gavignot, Thiébaut Frères successeurs' (B. Metman,"Répétoire des fondeurs au XIXème siècle", in Achives de l'art français, 1989, vol. XXX, pp. 212-213).
The present bronze was cast by the foundry Thiébaut Frères and represents the first state of this composition. John Tancock in The Sculpture of Auguste Rodin compares the two separate states:
In what must be the first version of this work, the out-stretched arm and the overhanging leg of the male figure and the apparent instability of the encounter of the two figures recall Rodin's comtemporary experiments with the Gates of Hell...In purely sculptural terms the first version is superior to the second since the freely floating arm and leg give to it an élan that the second bronze version does not have (J. Tancock, op. cit, p. 246).
The Thiébaut Frères foundry was active in Paris from 1878 to 1901, perpetuating a tradition of excellence in art founding back to Charles Thiébaut, creator of the dynasty in 1787. In 1901, the Thiébaut Frères foundry merged with Charles Fumière and André Gavignot who cast then for Rodin only under the name of 'Fumière et Gavignot, Thiébaut Frères successeurs' (B. Metman,"Répétoire des fondeurs au XIXème siècle", in Achives de l'art français, 1989, vol. XXX, pp. 212-213).