Eva, Bronze Sculpture by Rodin, 1881

Throughout his career, Rodin used photographs to document, analyze, and promote his work. Rodin recognized in Eugène Druet, an amateur photographer who owned a bar across the street from his studio, a talent for interpreting his art, and the two began a productive collaboration in the late 1890s. This photograph represents Eve, which Rodin started creating in 1881, intending that it be a pendant with Adam on either side of his Gates of Hell. Because of the model’s pregnancy, Rodin was not able to complete it initially. Meanwhile, he had Druet photograph it. Rodin’s signature, inscribed on the negative beside that of Druet, makes the photograph an extension of his own work.