Balzac, Nude Study C, Large Version (Balzac, étude de nu, grand modèle)
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
This study presents Balzac as a middle-aged man with cropped hair, a penetrating gaze, defiantly crossed arms, and a protruding belly, standing in a way that conveys no-nonsense physicality and inner confidence. The bulging stomach recalls images of Bacchus and satyrs on ancient Greek pottery, but the folded arms minimize this feature, endowing the torso with the portly strength of an aged athlete.
The mass of metal between the legs and the base is the result of casting a residual mound of the clay from which the figure was modeled. The mass suggests that Rodin did not consider this the final version of the monument, but rather a nude study for a figure eventually to be dressed. He typically made nude studies for clothed figures in order to understand how fabric should disclose the contours of the underlying body.
Caption
Auguste Rodin French, 1840–1917. Balzac, Nude Study C, Large Version (Balzac, étude de nu, grand modèle), 1892–1893; cast 1972. Bronze, 49 7/8 x 19 1/4 x 26 1/2 in., 148 lb. (126.7 x 48.9 x 67.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, 85.198. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 85.198_SL1.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
Balzac, Nude Study C, Large Version (Balzac, étude de nu, grand modèle)
Date
1892–1893; cast 1972
Geography
Place made: France
Medium
Bronze
Classification
Dimensions
49 7/8 x 19 1/4 x 26 1/2 in., 148 lb. (126.7 x 48.9 x 67.3 cm)
Signatures
Front, top of base, proper left: "A. Rodin"
Markings
Lower edge of base, near proper right foot: ".Georges Rudier./.Fondeur. Paris." Lower edge of base, near proper left foot: "© by Musée Rodin. 1972."
Credit Line
Gift of the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation
Accession Number
85.198
Rights
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.
Frequent Art Questions
How did Rodin make these sculptures?
Rodin used the "sand casting" method. He would have created his intended form in clay, then built a mould around it using a mixture of special sand, salt, and a binding agent. When the mould was ready, he would remove the clay from the center and then pour liquid bronze into the mould. Unlike other bronze casting techniques available at the time, sand casting allows for the creation of multiples.Why do you have so many Rodin sculptures?
We received many of the Rodin works currently on view as a gift from the Cantor Foundation in 1980s. The Cantor Foundation is interested creating opportunities to further explore the works of Rodin and his contemporaries.What was Rodin's process for the Balzac commission?
Balzac had died 40 years before Rodin received the commission for the monument. In order to better understand the writer's physical appearance, Rodin went to Balzac’s hometown near Tours and found someone that resembled Balzac to model for him. He produced over 50 clay studies that later were cast in bronze and sold as independent artworks. All of the Balzac works you see here were studies for the final monument.Were Rodin and Balzac colleagues?
They never met in person, Balzac was quite a bit older and had already passed away by the time Rodin was commissioned to sculpt him. When Rodin received the commission, he undertook extensive research, studying photos and portraits, reading descriptions of him, and even visiting his birthplace to sketch the inhabitants focusing on one individual that people said looked like Balzac.Did the public enjoy this sculpture?
This was one of many studies and doesn't really reflect the final piece which featured Balzac with messy, haphazard hair and draped in a shapeless cloak.People were not pleased with the final product calling it, “a sack of potatoes” and “a lump of plaster kicked together by a lunatic.”
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