Auguste Rodin

Private Collection, France (acquired circa 1948-1950)

Sale: Christie's, London, 28th March 1988, lot 3

Corporate Collection, Japan (purchased at the above sale. Sold: Christie's, New York, 6th November 2002, lot 2)

Private Collection, U.S.A. (purchased at the above sale: Sold: Christie’s, New York, 4th May 2011, lot 13)

Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Georges Grappe, Catalogue du Musée Rodin, Paris, 1944, no. 56, illustration of another cast p. 56

René Descharnes & Jean-François Chabrun, Auguste Rodin, Lausanne, 1967, illustration of another cast p. 134

Ionel Jianou & Cécile Goldscheider, Rodin, Paris, 1967, illustrations of another cast pls. 56-57

John L. Tancock, The Sculpture of Auguste Rodin, Philadelphia, 1976, illustration of another cast figs. 32, 32a-b, 33 & 34

Albert E. Elsen, Rodin Rediscovered, Washington, D.C., 1981, illustration of another cast pl. 48

David Finn & Marie Busco, Rodin and His Contemporaries: The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collection, New York, 1991, illustration of another cast p. 227

Albert E. Elsen, Rodin's Art, The Rodin Collection of the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University, New York, 2003, no. 148, another cast illustrated p. 495

Antoinette Le Normand-Romain, The Bronzes of Rodin, Catalogue of Works in the Musée Rodin, Paris, 2007, vol. I, no. S.989, other casts and versions illustrated pp. 331-337

 

Rich modulated green-brown patina. There is minor wear to the patina of the woman's right elbow and forearm, as well as a few further surface scuffs. Apart from a few spots of retouching to the patina on the back of the man's left arm, visible under ultra-violet light, this work is in very good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Éternel Printemps was one of Rodin's most celebrated sculptures of the 1880s. The theme of embracing lovers preoccupied Rodin and calls to mind the story of Paolo and Francesca, Dante's mythical paramours who were condemned to spend eternity locked in a maelstrom of passion. For the figure of the woman Rodin used the highly sensual Torse d'Adèle, 1882, which was named after the model who posed for the sculptor. This form was first used to the left of the tympanum of the Gates of Hell and again later in La Chute d'un Ange, but it gained its greatest fame when it was united with the figure of the youthful male in the present work. This cast represents the first state of this composition, but when Rodin received a commission for the first of the marble versions, it became apparent that the outstretched left arm and right leg of the male figure, extending freely into space in the first state, would have to be modified. Consequently the base was enlarged to provide support for the leg and arm. John Tancock has compared the two separate states: ‘In what must be the first version of this work, the outstretched arm and the overhanging leg of the male figure and the apparent instability of the encounter of the two figures recall Rodin's contemporary experiments with the Gates of Hell... In purely sculptural terms the first version is superior to the second since the freely floating arm and leg give to it an élan that the second bronze version does not have’ (John L. Tancock, op. cit., p. 246).

Animated by the dazzling play of light on the surface and the sweeping upward movement of the man, the figures seem ready to take flight. As Ionel Jianou and Cécile Goldscheider have noted: 'Rodin is an artist who can see and dares to express in all sincerity what he has seen. He discovers the enchantment of light and its resources, the vibration and intimate movement of surfaces and planes, the throb of passion that animates form. He uses 'highlights, heavy shadows, paleness, quivering, vaporous half-tones, and transitions so finely shaded that they seem to dissolve into air', giving his sculpture 'the radiance of living flesh'' (I. Jianou & C. Goldscheider, op. cit., p. 19).

From dealing with love in an allegorical way, Rodin began treating it in more human terms. As evident in the present work, there is a marked increase in the eroticism of his art and a corresponding growth in the daring movement of the poses which could be a reflection of the artist's studio practise allowing the models to move freely and independently. Rodin himself proclaimed: 'Sculpture does not need to be original, what it needs is life. [...] I used to think that movement was the chief thing in sculpture and in all I did it was what I tried to attain. [...] Grief, joy, thoughts – in our art all becomes action' (quoted in I. Jianou & C. Goldscheider, ibid., pp. 19-20).