An important original bronze sculpture of Brother and Sister- Frère et Soeur ,
by A. Rodin (1840-1917)
signed 'A. Rodin' on the right of the base, inscribed with the foundry mark 'Alexis Rudier, Fondeur, Paris on the left back of the base along with the raised signature 'A. Rodin' on the interior of the base.
Conceived circa 1890-1891, this bronze version cast by the Alexis Rudier Foundry.
Bronze with black patina
This work will be included in the forthcoming "Catalogue Raisonee/Critique de l'oeuvre sculpté d'Auguste Rodin" by Galerie Brame & Lorenceau under the direction of Jérôme Le Blay
"Freres et Soeur” an original bronze sculpture by the renown French artist Auguste Rodin, depicts a young girl embracing her younger brother in a tender and protective gesture. The figures shown hugging are modeled in a relaxed and naturalistic style, with the girl's angular forms and the boy's chubby, cherubic body contrasting each other.
This statue is considered one of Rodin's most tender and sentimental works.
It was created during the same period as his more famous work, "The Gates of Hell," which is a massive sculpture that depicts scenes from Dante's Inferno. While "The Gates of Hell" is often associated with themes of suffering and despair, Freres et Soeur is seen as a counterpoint, offering a glimpse of tenderness and love. Sentimental tenderness is rare in Rodin’s sculptures; here, it reflects memories of sustaining love between brother and sister.
The Rodin Museum in Paris/ Musee Rodin in Meudon, France has this bronze sculpture in their collection as well as the original plaster model.
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Biblio:
Rainer Maria Rilke, Auguste Rodin, Leipzig, 1922, no. 35, another version illustrated np.
Georges Grappe, Catalogue du Musée Rodin, Paris, 1929, no. 192, another version illustrated p. 81
Ionel Jianou & Cécile Goldscheider, Rodin, Paris, 1967, another version illustrated p. 104
John L. Tancock, The Sculpture of Auguste Rodin, Philadelphia, 1976, no. 25-2, another version illustrated p. 223
Clare Vincent, Rodin at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1981, no. 29, another version illustrated p. 28
John L. Tancock, Rodin en México: Colección de escultura europea de los siglos XIX y XX, Mexico, 1997, no. 36, another version illustrated p. 44
Antoinette Le Normand-Romain, The Bronzes of Rodin, Catalogue of Works in the Musée Rodin, Paris, 2007, vol. I, no. S.975, other versions illustrated p. 376-377, the present cast listed p. 376
nude, naked, figural forms, children.