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Lot Essay
This figure was conceived for La Porte de l'Enfer, where it is located on the lintel above the left door. It relates closely to two other kneeling figures also depicted in this monumental composition, situated near Le penseur. The kneeling figure also appears as the central figure in Rodin's bronze of Orphée et Ménades conceived before 1889.
The most startling aspect of Faunesse is her dramatic facial features, which Rodin chose to juxtapose against a svelte, relaxed body. These features, coupled with the figure's placement near the La Chute d'un ange and La Martyre in the original composition of La Porte de l'Enfer, reveal insight into Rodins interpretation of the kneeling figure as a subject "from the realm of the damned" (Tancock op.cit., p. 168). In 1886 Rodin revisited this subject in another media with his illustrations for Charles Baudelaire's collection of poetry, Les fleurs du Mal. In these drawings he altered the face of the kneeling figure to express a more tranquil and languid mood.
The most startling aspect of Faunesse is her dramatic facial features, which Rodin chose to juxtapose against a svelte, relaxed body. These features, coupled with the figure's placement near the La Chute d'un ange and La Martyre in the original composition of La Porte de l'Enfer, reveal insight into Rodins interpretation of the kneeling figure as a subject "from the realm of the damned" (Tancock op.cit., p. 168). In 1886 Rodin revisited this subject in another media with his illustrations for Charles Baudelaire's collection of poetry, Les fleurs du Mal. In these drawings he altered the face of the kneeling figure to express a more tranquil and languid mood.