Lot Essay
This group, which is found several times in the Gates of Hell for which Rodin took Dante's Inferno as his source, is also known as Paolo and Francesca, the tragic lovers of Rimini. The tension of the two figures takes on various aspects and either one can be isolated. The male figure was subsequently adapted for the Prodigal Son. In this group it is combined with a female figure, expressing '...men seeking to grasp the unsubmissive forms of women, who for Rodin signified the elusive lure of the beautiful and the object of timeless passion.' (A. E. Elsen, Rodin, New York, 1963, p. 61).
J. de Caso and P. B. Sanders in Rodin's Sculpture, A Critical Study of the Sprechels Collection, write, 'This streamlined pair jet through space carried by some unseen force. Like fish the sinuous couple floats, ignoring the laws of gravity. Despite the subtle joining of the two graceful figures, their torment cannot be mistaken. The two lovers from Dante's circle of the adulterers can never escape the infernal wind. Joined back to back, their momentary union is of the most tenuous sort. The man, whom we recognise as The Prodigal Son, desperately reaches out to hold fast to his female partner as he gradually slips from her back, while the woman hysterically grasps her head in fear. Gradually the two drift apart in measureless space, perhaps never to meet again.'
A plaster cast of this work was first exhibited at Galerie Georges Petit in Paris in 1887. However, the sculpture was probably conceived between 1881 and 1885 when the major part of the Gates of Hell was executed. "The absence of direct Michelangelesque influence, the spatial freedom of the posture and its passionate character (which might be due to the beginning of Rodin's relationship with Camille Claudel in 1883) possibly could limit the dating to 1883-1885" (A. T. Spear, 1964, loc. cit.). Rodin then made a number of versions in marble and bronze from 1887 onwards.
Rodin gave the present marble to the Irish artist, Sir John Lavery, R. A. (1856-1941) in the early 1900s. The Tate Gallery has an undated letter from Rodin to Lavery that reads "Votre petit groupe est fait et je l'enverrai ou vous voulez". This probably refers to the present sculpture.
J. de Caso and P. B. Sanders in Rodin's Sculpture, A Critical Study of the Sprechels Collection, write, 'This streamlined pair jet through space carried by some unseen force. Like fish the sinuous couple floats, ignoring the laws of gravity. Despite the subtle joining of the two graceful figures, their torment cannot be mistaken. The two lovers from Dante's circle of the adulterers can never escape the infernal wind. Joined back to back, their momentary union is of the most tenuous sort. The man, whom we recognise as The Prodigal Son, desperately reaches out to hold fast to his female partner as he gradually slips from her back, while the woman hysterically grasps her head in fear. Gradually the two drift apart in measureless space, perhaps never to meet again.'
A plaster cast of this work was first exhibited at Galerie Georges Petit in Paris in 1887. However, the sculpture was probably conceived between 1881 and 1885 when the major part of the Gates of Hell was executed. "The absence of direct Michelangelesque influence, the spatial freedom of the posture and its passionate character (which might be due to the beginning of Rodin's relationship with Camille Claudel in 1883) possibly could limit the dating to 1883-1885" (A. T. Spear, 1964, loc. cit.). Rodin then made a number of versions in marble and bronze from 1887 onwards.
Rodin gave the present marble to the Irish artist, Sir John Lavery, R. A. (1856-1941) in the early 1900s. The Tate Gallery has an undated letter from Rodin to Lavery that reads "Votre petit groupe est fait et je l'enverrai ou vous voulez". This probably refers to the present sculpture.