Small head of the Man with the broken nose - Auguste RODIN (1840-1917)

Petite tête de l'Homme au nez cassé
Small head of the Man with the broken nose
Sketch for the Gates of Hell
Variant with symmetric neck

Bronze with black-dark brown patina
Signed " A. Rodin " on the neck
With the foundry mark " Alexis Rudier fondeur, Paris ",
Raised on a marble base

Created before 1889
Our cast was made between 1920 and 1930

height of the bronze : 12,4 cm
height with the base : 19,8 cm

With its certificate issued by the Auguste Rodin committee.

Bibliography :
“Rodin et le bronze, Catalogue des œuvres conservées au Musée Rodin”, par Antoinette Le Normand-Romain, Paris, 2007, tome II, page 416.

Biography :
Auguste Rodin (1840-1917), at the age of 24, began his collaboration with Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse (1824-1887), a renowned sculptor of the Second Empire. In his studio, he created ornaments for architectural decorations in Paris. He then joined him in Belgium. A year later, Rodin presented his sculpture L'Homme au nez cassé at the Salon. The work deemed fragmentary was then refused. Rodin travelled in 1876 to Italy to discover the artists of the Renaissance. He was particularly inspired by the work of sculptor and painter Michelangelo.

Back from Italy, Rodin executed the sculpture that made him known: L’Âge d’airain. His work was exhibited at the Artistic and Literary Circle of Brussels, then at the Salon of the French Artists in Paris. But the sculpture was so realistic that critics accused Rodin of having molded it on the body of his model. This was a scandal. In 1878, Rodin sculpted his Saint John the Baptist. He chose to do it larger than life to prove that he created the form himself and not made a molding. Two years later, Rodin received an order from the French State for the future Decorative Arts Museum. This project became La Porte de l’Enfer : a decorative door inspired by The Divine Comedy of the poet Dante Alighieri. Then in 1882, Rodin created Le Baiser, his sculpture which became so emblematic throughout the world, then he met Camille Claudel (1864-1943). This new pupil will became his collaborator, his mistress and his muse. Rodin inaugurated in 1895 his monument of the Bourgeois de Calais, more than ten years after the order of the municipality.

It was on the sidelines of the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1900 that Rodin, aged 60, organized a retrospective exhibition of his work. He then gained international recognition. In 1916, Rodin fell seriously ill. He then made three donations of his collections to the French State in order to create a Rodin museum.