L'éternel printemps, second état, troisième réduction

Details

Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)
L'éternel printemps, second état, troisième réduction
signed 'Rodin' (on the right side of the base); inscribed with the foundry mark 'F.BARBEDIENNE,Fondeur.' (on the left side of the base); stamped 'A.Collas réduction mécanique Breveté' (on the back of the base)
bronze with light brown patina
Height: 15½ in. (39.5 cm.)
Conceived in 1884; this bronze version cast on 14 May 1901

Literature

G. Grappe, Catalogue du Musée Rodin, Paris, 1927, no. 69 (another cast illustrated p. 42).
I. Jianou & C. Goldscheider, Rodin, Paris, 1967, p. 96.
R. Descharnes & J.F. Chabrun, Auguste Rodin, Lausanne, 1967, p. 96 (another cast illustrated pls. 56-57).
J.L. Tancock, The Sculpture of Auguste Rodin, Philadelphia, 1976, pp. 241-247, no. 32b (another cast illustrated).
A.E. Elsen, Rodin Rediscovered, Washington, 1981, p. 68 (large clay version illustrated fig. 313).

Special Notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 15% on the buyer's premium

Sale Room Notice

Please note that the Comité Auguste Rodin under the direction of Jérôme Le Blay will include this work in their forthcoming Rodin Catalogue critique de l'oeuvre sculpté under the number 2007V1189B and not as stated in the catalogue.

Lot Essay

The Comité Auguste Rodin under the direction of Jérôme Le Blay will include this work in their forthcoming Rodin Catalogue critique de l'oeuvre sculpté under the number 2007V1I789B.

Originally conceived for the Gates of Hell but not included in the final composition, L'éternel printemps was one of Rodin's most popular compositions and one of the sculptor's greatest commercial successes. Exhibited at the Salon of 1897, the work is also entitled Zephyr and the Earth and Cupid and Pysche. In fact, one can make out traces of wings on the man's back identifying him as Cupid. As with many of his great figural groupings, Rodin developed the characters of the amourous couple from earlier works; the figure of the woman is based on Torse d'Adèle, which appears on the top left corner of the tympanum of the Gates of Hell.

Due to its immediate popularity, Rodin executed a second version of L'éternel printemps, with an extended base and a rocky outcrop to support the left arm and outstretched leg of the male figure. This version became the model for the Barbedienne casts which were originally produced in three sizes from 1898.

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