Rodin's Portraits

Rodin didn’t just sculpt classical and biblical figures, but also turned his attention to ordinary people, producing more than 100 portraits throughout his lifetime. Take a look at three of them here, one of them less well-received than others...

A sack of potatoes, a seal, a penguin... a pig. These are a few of the descriptors contemporary critics chose to describe this 1898 work by Rodin. In fact, it portrays the French writer Balzac.

The towering figure has an ominous, mask-like face and twisted mouth, which suggest mystery and struggle. The dramatic swirls of fabric that shroud Balzac are a literal reference to the dressing gown he wore while writing, evoking the inaccessibility of his genius.

When Rodin sculpted a portrait of friend and prominent poet Anna Noaille, she didn’t care for the prominence of her nose. Rodin refused to change it, however, saying it was true to nature.

Rodin made use of sharp contrasts. Notice the graceful, smooth head and face emerging from the rough materiality of the base. The result suggests that the figure portrait is almost emerging from the stone into life, an effect that fascinated Rodin.