Lot Essay
La bénèdiction was designed for the top of the La tour du travail. This tower-like structure was commissioned in 1894 by Armand Dayot, the French government's inspector general of fine arts. The monument reflects Rodin's developing interest in architecture, and is based on the famous staircase of the Château de Blois.
The plan of the monument, in which the artist has combined architecture and sculpture, for the glorification of work, is composed of a substructure forming a crypt and of a tall column,
covered with bas-reliefs...A sheaf forms the pinnacle of the column on which are alighting the Benedictions, two winged genuises who
descend from heaven, like a beneficent rain, to bless the work of men. (A. Rodin, in J.L. Tancock, op.cit., p. 294)
Rodin completed work on the model in 1899. Although he hoped it would be built by 1900, the project was never realized.
The plan of the monument, in which the artist has combined architecture and sculpture, for the glorification of work, is composed of a substructure forming a crypt and of a tall column,
covered with bas-reliefs...A sheaf forms the pinnacle of the column on which are alighting the Benedictions, two winged genuises who
descend from heaven, like a beneficent rain, to bless the work of men. (A. Rodin, in J.L. Tancock, op.cit., p. 294)
Rodin completed work on the model in 1899. Although he hoped it would be built by 1900, the project was never realized.