Portrait of Honoré de Balzac
Portrait of Honoré de Balzac
Published 2015-01-16T11:41:41+00:00
The bust is cast from one of the first studies in clay for a monument commemorating the French writer Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850), commissioned in 1891 by the Society of Writers under the presidency of Emile Zola.
Balzac had then been dead for over 40 years. Rodin attempted to overcome this difficulty by researching the writer's life and visiting the region around Tours where he had lived in order to study the local facial types. But another, and more reliable, source for this bust was a portrait of Balzac of about 1822, attributed to Achille Devéria. The spirited and free handling of the clay of the original study, retained in the bronze, together with the erect head and direct gaze of the sitter, convey the confidence and determination associated with youth. Later - and controversially - Rodin decided to represent Balzac as an older rather haggard man, over life size, and enveloped in a long, loose robe.
Gallery location:
Sculpture, Room 21, The Dorothy and Michael Hintze Galleries, case WN
This object is part of "Scan The World". Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open source, community effort, if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com to find out how you can help.
Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Date published | 16/01/2015 |
Benoetigte Zeit | 200 - 220 Minuten |
Menge an Filament | 50grams |
Dimensionen | 88 x 55 x 125 |
Schwierigkeitsgrad | Medium |
Title | Portrait of Honoré de Balzac |
Date | ca. 1891- ca. 1892 (made) |
Dimension | Height: 41.5 cm excluding base |
Accession | A.42-1914 |
Period | Impressionist |
Medium | Bronze |
Credit | Given to the Victoria and Albert Museum by Rodin in 1914 |
Record | http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O135951/balzac-bust-rodin/ |
Artist | Auguste Rodin |
Place | Victoria and Albert Museum, London |
From my Rodin collection of prints. I always wondered how sculpts would look like if painted. This started when I was told that the sculpts in the metope of Parthenon where painted and what remains today is the decoloured marble after many ages.
Some times I just try to paint, but in other cases, something provocative comes into my mind and I follow a more creative path. In any case, enjoy!
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