AUGUSTE RODIN | Eve, petite modèle (modèle à la base carrée et aux pieds plats)

Musée Rodin, Paris
Dominion Gallery, Montreal (acquired from the above in October 1967)
Private Collection, Montreal (acquired from the above in the early 1970s)
MK Fine Art, New York
Acquired from the above in 2010

Georges Grappe, Catalogue du Musée Rodin, Paris, 1929, no. 55, illustration of the marble version p. 41
Judith Cladel, Auguste Rodin, sa vie glorieuse, sa vie inconnue, Paris, 1936
Ionel Jianou & Cécile Goldscheider, Rodin, Paris, 1967, illustration of the plaster pl. 17
John L. Tancock, The Sculpture of Auguste Rodin, Philadelphia, 1976, no. 8-5, illustration of another cast p. 154
Albert E. Elsen, The Gates of Hell by Auguste Rodin, Stanford, 1985, no. 64, illustrations of another cast pp. 74-78
Raphäel Masson & Véronique Mattiusi, Rodin, Paris, 2004, illustration of another cast p. 39
Antoinette Le Normand-Romain, The Bronzes of Rodin, Catalogue of the Works in the Musée Rodin, vol. I, Paris, 2007, illustrations of other casts pp. 340 & 341

Rich black patina. Minor scattered spots of verdigris to the back of the figure's legs. Dust in the deepest crevices. Some extremely minor scattered spots of patina loss to the figure's buttocks and back. Three additional scratches to the figure's back, the largest of which measures one inch. Some minor scattered patina losses to the right half of the figure's face as well as to the rock behind the figure. Otherwise, fine. This work is in overall 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.
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.

Conceived as part of Rodin's monumental portal The Gates of Hell, the present work is a sensual portrayal of the mother of humanity at the moment she becomes aware of her nakedness. The psychological effect of Eve's revelation is rendered through her striking pose, almost as if seeking shelter in her own embrace. The fullness of her figure and the beautifully modeled curve of her body reflect her strength as well as the vulnerability of this realization. Rodin's working model for this sculpture was a life-size plaster that he never finished, allegedly because his model was pregnant and could not endure the long hours of posing. The artist completed two versions of the sculpture at the present size, often referred to as Petite Eve.  The poet Rainer Maria Rilke described the work beautifully in 1903: "It shrivels like burning paper, it becomes stronger, more concentrated, more animated. That Eve [which] was originally to be placed over The Gates of Hell, stands with her head sunk deeply into the shadow of the arms that draw together over the breast like those of a freezing woman. The back rounded, the nape of the neck almost horizontal. She bends forward as though listening to her own body as a new future begins to stir. And it is as though the gravity of this future weighed upon the sense of the woman and drew her down from the freedom of life, into the deep, humble service of motherhood" (Rainer Maria Rilke, Auguste Rodin, New York, 1919, n.p.).

Examples of this model are included in the collections of the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Nice, Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh and the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Foundation in Los Angeles.



This work will be included in the forthcoming Catalogue Critique de l'oeuvre sculpté d'Auguste Rodin currently being prepared by the Comité Rodin in collaboration with Galerie Brame & Lorenceau under the direction of Jérôme Le Blay under the archive number 2007V1242B.