In 1891 rodin was commissioned to create a monument honoring the celebrated french writer honoré de balzac. The figure evolved through multiple stages over a seven-year period as rodin explored different methods of conveying the author’s genius and personality. This bust is a study for the first version, in which the full figure stands upright with legs apart, arms crossed over his corpulent belly. Rodin’s unglamorous portrayal of a national hero shocked the public accustomed to idealized figures in public monuments. The final design was even more intensely criticized because rodin reduced the body to a powerful, abstract mass intended to convey the symbolic essence of the writer’s creative vitality. Object Type: sculpture. Date: 1891. Place of creation: France, 19th century. Dimensions: Overall: 52.7 x 39.4 x 32.4 cm (20 3/4 x 15 1/2 x 12 3/4 in.). Medium: bronze. Collection: Cleveland Museum of Art. Clevelandart 1972.277
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