Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)

La cathdrale

Details

Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)
La cathdrale
signed 'A. Rodin' (on the base); inscribed with the foundry mark 'Georges Rudier/Fondeur. Paris' and 'by Muse Rodin 1958' (on the side of the base); with raised signature 'A. Rodin' (on the inside)
bronze with a brown green patina
25 in. (64.2 cm.) high
Originally conceived in 1907-1908, this bronze the fifth from the edition of twelve cast by the Muse Rodin in 1958

Provenance

Muse Rodin, Paris (inv. 907).
Dominion Gallery, Montreal, by whom purchased directly from the above in 1958.
Antonio Barrette, Quebec, by whom purchased from the above in 1958; his sale, Christie's London, 29 June 1981, lot 2.
Anon. sale, Sotheby's London, 3 December 1985, lot 24 (80,000).

Literature

Georges Grappe, Catalogue du Muse Rodin, Paris, 1927, no. 340 (the stone version illustrated p. 132).
F. G. Watkins, Rodin Museum of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, 1929, no. 40 (another cast illustrated).
S. Story, Rodin, London, 1939, no. 101 (another cast illustrated). E. Waldmann, Auguste Rodin, Vienna, 1945, no. 59 (the stone version illustrated).
I. Jianou and C. Goldscheider, Auguste Rodin, Paris, 1967, nos. 50 & 51 (the stone version illustrated p. 93).
R. Descharnes and J. F. Chabrun, Auguste Rodin, London, 1967 (the stone version illustrated p. 211).
J. L. Tancock, Rodin Museum Handbook, Philadelphia, 1969, no. 120 (another cast illustrated).
John L. Tancock, The Sculpture of Auguste Rodin, Philadelphia, 1976, p.628, no. 123 (another cast illustrated p. 629).

Exhibited

Paris, Galerie Charpentier, Van Dongen, 1949, no. 61.
Marseilles, Muse Cantini, Homage Van Dongen, 1969, no. 38.

Lot Essay

As an artist with a fundamentally classical training, Rodin's ultimate interest was in balance and harmony. La cathdrale stands as a monument to Rodin's ability to conceive a balance in three dimensions. There is a lyricism and beauty in the piece which is perhaps only matched by Degas' finest Arabesques. The tranquillity of the sculpture has led to it becoming a symbol of peace and reconciliation, in much the same way that Picasso's Colombe has so frequently been used as a symbol of unity.

The conceptual origin of La cathdrale is not known, however Rodin had a great respect for architecture, and more particularly for the Gothic architects of the Middle Ages, and it may well be that the arched hands are a simple hommage to the refined vocabulary of symmetry which is the essence of Gothic architecture.

In 1914 Rodin published his celebrated Les Cathdrales de France which comprised a series of architectural essays accompanied by his own illustrations. What he so admired in the cathedrals was the spirit in which they had been created. He wrote: 'little by little I have come closer to our old cathedrals and penetrated the secret of their life... Now I can say that I owe them my greatest joys...' (quoted in F. V. Grunfeld, Rodin: A biography, New York, 1998, p. 619).

Throughout his career Rodin had made studies of the hand in wax and in bronze. However, none come close to the ethereal quality of the present sculpture.

The present work was cast by the Muse Rodin in 1958 soon after which it was purchased by Antonio Barrette, Prime Minister of the Quebec provinces.

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