Auguste Rodin

Musée Rodin, Paris

Galerie Claude Bernard, Paris (acquired from the above in April 1968)

David Bassine (acquired from the above and sold: Sotheby Park Bernet & Co. London, April 5, 1978, lot 15)

Acquired at the above sale

Georges Grappe, Catalogue du Musée Rodin, Paris, 1929, no. 199, illustration of another cast p. 82

Albert Sigogneau, 'Le tourment de Rodin', in L'Amour de l'art, Paris, December 1935, illustration of another cast p. 379

Georges Grappe, Catalogue du Musée Rodin, Paris, 1944, no. 248, illustration of another cast p. 85

Marcel Aubert, Rodin Sculptures, Paris, 1952, illustration of another cast p. 50

Albert E. Elsen, Rodin, New York, 1963, illustration of another cast p. 185

Ionel Jianou & Cécile Goldscheider, Auguste Rodin, Paris, 1967, illustration of another cast pl. 77

Robert Descharnes & Jean-François Chabrun, Auguste Rodin, Paris, 1967, illustration of the terracotta p. 249

Albert E. Elsen, Rodin, London, 1974, illustration of another cast p. 185

John L. Tancock, The Sculpture of Auguste Rodin, Philadelphia, 1976, illustration of another cast p. 290

Albert E. Elsen, In Rodin's Studio, A Photographic Record of Sculpture in the Making, Ithaca, 1980, illustration of the plaster pl. 95

Albert E. Elsen (ed.), Rodin Rediscovered, Washington D.C., 1981, illustration of another cast p. 111

Hélène Pinet, Rodin Sculpteur et Les Photographes de Son Temps, Paris, 1985, no. 57, illustration of another cast p. 69

Catherine Lampert, Rodin Sculpture and Drawings, London, 1986, no. 141, illustration of the smaller version p. 221; no. 144, illustrations of another cast pls. 206-207

Jane Mayo Roos, 'Rodin's Monument to Victor Hugo: Art and Politics in the Third Republic', in The Art Bulletin, New York, December 1986, fig. 24, illustration of another cast p. 655

Bernhard Champigneulle, Rodin, Paris, 1989, illustration of another cast p. 105

Mary L. Levkoff, Rodin in His Time, Los Angeles & New York, 1994, no. 43, illustration of another cast p. 137

Ruth Butler, La solitude du génie, Paris, 1998, no. 138, illustration of another cast p. 187

Rachel Blackburn et al., Rodin, A Magnificent Obsession, Los Angeles, 2001, no. 51, colour illustration of another cast p. 68

Antoinette Le Normand-Romain, The Bronzes of Rodin, Catalogue of Works in the Musée Rodin, vol. II, Paris, 2007, no. S.1068, illustration of another cast p. 452

Excellent condition. The bronze features a beautiful black patina. The work is structurally sound and in very good condition overall.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Suspended in mid-air, this image of the female body is one of Rodin's most daring sculptures, both in its defiance of gravity and in the frankness of its sexuality. The figure was originally conceived in connection with his second project for the Victor Hugo Monument. The figure hovered above the seated figure of Hugo, suggesting that Glory crowned his great achievements as a poet. When enlarged and exhibited independently, the head and left arm were eliminated from the composition.

Discussing the Monument to Victor Hugo, Catherine Lampert noted: 'The third muse, eventually not incorporated, is the work known independently and infamously as Iris, Messenger of the Gods (or Eternal Tunnel) […] Conceived from a model who lay obligingly on her back, one leg caught by her hand and the other providing support, even horizontally she is pivoted by her sexual centre. Raised vertically, with the vagina rotated, the orgasmic metaphor becomes more obvious. It has been written that acrobats acted as models for this work and the other Iris figures. Certainly, their sinewy physiques and exhibitionist poses seem to have imaginatively permeated the forms. Rodin was at this time infatuated with the can-can dancers and saved an article in the September 1891 Gil Blas on the Chahut dancer Grille d’Egout. He was also fascinated by the ‘apache’ or hoodlum girls on the rue de Lappe' (C. Lampert, Rodin Sculpture and Drawings, London, 1986, pp. 121 & 123).

According to Jerome LeBlay of the Comité Rodin, Iris was one of Rodin's most popular sculptures, and seven bronzes were made of this subject in the artist's lifetime.  After his death, the Alexis Rudier foundry completed at least three examples.  The present work was one of nine casts completed at the Georges Rudier Foundry under the direction of the Musée Rodin between 1955 and 1969. Only 19 casts of Iris in total exist, and the majority of these are in public collections including Musée Rodin, Paris; Galerie Nationale, Oslo; Kunsthaus, Zurich; Peter Stuyvesant Foundation, Stellenbosh; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington; Los Angeles County Art Museum, Los Angeles; Metropolitan Museum, New York; Galerie der Stadt, Stuttgart; Beyeler Foundation, Basel; Fondation Dina Vierny-Musée Maillol, Paris; Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaïde.