Study of Nude for Balzac F.

ca. 1896

French, 1840-1917

In 1891, the French Society of Authors commissioned Rodin to create a monument to the writer Honoré de Balzac. Rodin developed his ideas by making realistic nude studies, which he then simplified and exaggerated before arriving at the final unorthodox form of a figure with a large head, disheveled hair, and a bizarre backwards-leaning pose. In this late study, Rodin draws a parallel between Balzac’s literary powers and surging sexual energy.

Before his death in 1917, Rodin authorized the posthumous casting of his works to preserve his legacy. The Musée Rodin in Paris oversaw this work, employing the Georges Rudier Foundry in Paris.

Bronze with black patina

36 x 15 x 12 1/4 in. (91.44 x 38.1 x 31.12 cm)

Gift of Richard and Elizabeth Hedreen in memory of Anthony Callison and the Modern Art Purchase Fund

89.181

Now on view at the Seattle Art Museum

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Henry Art Gallery, Modern Masters and the Figure, Sept. 16 - Nov. 28, 1993

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Five Installations on the Fourth Floor: Aspects of Late-Nineteenth-Century Art, June 26, 1997

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, French Painting from SAM's Permanent Collection, Apr. 23, 2005 - Jan. 2, 2006

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

Learn more about Equity at SAM