Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)

Buste féminin ou A la ville

Details

Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)
Buste féminin ou A la ville
signed and dedicated on the back 'A. Rodin Hommage à Madame Druet'
terracotta
Height (excluding base): 11 7/8 in. (30 cm.)
Conceived circa 1871; this terracotta version cast before 1901

Provenance

Mrs. Eugène Druet, Paris (gift from the artist, 1901).
Acquired by the family of the previous owner, circa 1950.

Literature

C. Goldscheider, Auguste Rodin, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre sculpté, Paris, 1989, vol. I, p. 36, no. 3 (illustrated, p. 37; with incorrect dimensions).

Lot Essay

According to the correspondence between Rodin and Mrs. Eugène Druet, wife of the celebrated Parisian dealer (Archives Musée Rodin, Paris) this work is a poignant testament to a secret love affair between the artist and Mrs. Druet.

Eugène Druet, a café owner on the Place de l'Alma and not yet fully established as an art dealer, agreed with Rodin to manage his one-man exhibition at the Alma Pavilion in 1900. Mrs. Druet, who helped Rodin and her husband to smooth-over a serious commercial conflict after the show, had a discreet affair with the sculptor. Rodin presented Buste féminin to Mrs. Druet as a gift, and also modeled her portrait.

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