Lot Essay
Frere et soeur is unusual within Rodin's oeuvre for its treatment of the subject of maternal or sibling love. A possible prototype for the child is found in Idylle d'Ixelles, executed in 1876 when Rodin was in Belgium and known to have modeled numerous studies of children. The origin of the principal figure is the female nude that appears in his marble high relief Galatea, carved in 1889. The pairing of the two figures in Frere et soeur is also related to Absolution, 1890, in which one female figure crouches on the lap of another. In its charm, the present work harkens back to the time when Rodin worked in Carrier-Belleuse's studio.