Auguste Rodin (French, 1840–1917). <em>Balzac, Monumental Head (Balzac, tête monumentale)</em>, 1898; cast 1979. Bronze, 20 x 17 1/2 x 16 in. (50.8 x 44.5 x 40.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, 84.75.23. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 84.75.23_bw.jpg)

Auguste Rodin (French, 1840–1917). Balzac, Monumental Head (Balzac, tête monumentale), 1898; cast 1979. Bronze, 20 x 17 1/2 x 16 in. (50.8 x 44.5 x 40.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, 84.75.23. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 84.75.23_bw.jpg)

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Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

Why is that some of his sculptures without eyes? Did he intentionally leave it out?

I believe the lack of eyes is a reference to antiquity. Many of the ancient sculptures Rodin would have seen would have been missing their eyes either because the inlays had been lost or the paint has come off.

Rodin was known to make such direct references to the sculptures he saw, including removing limbs. Also, he was more concerned with expression than detail.

Why are the eyes hollow?

We're not sure, but one theory is that it is meant as a reference to ancient sculptures which often have hollow eyes where the inlays were removed. Rodin often took inspiration from ancient sculpture including the ways that damage would change the overall effect.

Balzac, Monumental Head (Balzac, tête monumentale)

European Art

On View:

This is an enlargement of one of the final life-size head studies for the Balzac monument. Its exaggerated physiognomy departs from the more realistic portrait studies of the project’s early stages, with an agitated sculptural surface meant to communicate a restless, creative psyche. The head was to be viewed from below and at a distance, and the effect of light on the deeply modeled sculpture played an important role in Rodin’s conception. From different perspectives and under various lighting conditions, Balzac’s face yields a multiplicity of expressions, suggesting the complexity of the author’s personality.

ARTIST Auguste Rodin, French, 1840–1917

CAST BY Georges Rudier Fondeur, Paris

MEDIUM Bronze

Place Made: France

DATES 1898; cast 1979

DIMENSIONS 20 x 17 1/2 x 16 in. (50.8 x 44.5 x 40.6 cm) (show scale)

MARKINGS Back, lower edge of base: ".Georges Rudier./.Fondeur. Paris." Lower edge of base, proper left: "© by Musée Rodin 1978"

SIGNATURE Base, proper left: "A. Rodin" Interior, front of neck, plate in relief: "A. Rodin"

INSCRIPTIONS Base, proper left, below signature: "No 6"

COLLECTIONS European Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 84.75.23

CREDIT LINE Gift of the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Auguste Rodin (French, 1840–1917). Balzac, Monumental Head (Balzac, tête monumentale), 1898; cast 1979. Bronze, 20 x 17 1/2 x 16 in. (50.8 x 44.5 x 40.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, 84.75.23. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 84.75.23_bw.jpg)

EDITION Edition: 6/12

IMAGE overall, 84.75.23_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

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Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

Why is that some of his sculptures without eyes? Did he intentionally leave it out?

Rodin was known to make such direct references to the sculptures he saw, including removing limbs. Also, he was more concerned with expression than detail.

Why are the eyes hollow?