The Evil Spirits

c. 1899

Auguste Rodin

Sculptor, French, 1840 - 1917

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On View

West Building Ground Floor, Gallery G3

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    marble

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Mrs. John W. Simpson

  • Dimensions

    overall: 71.2 x 75.7 x 59 cm (28 1/16 x 29 13/16 x 23 1/4 in.)

  • Accession

    1942.5.17

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Purchased between 1903 and 1911 from the artist by Mr. and Mrs. John W. Simpson, New York;[1] gift 1942 to NGA.
[1] There is no record of the purchase of The Evil Spirits. The first reference to it in one of Kate Simpson's letters is 7 January 1912. Mrs. Simpson said that a certain "Madame Kalbfleisch" had been in her home the previous week and had admired "Le bon et mauvais Genie" (letter in Musée Rodin Archives, Paris).

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1946

  • Rodin: Sculpture, Drawings, Prints, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1946, no. 4, as Three Figures.

1965

  • Wax Sculptures by Degas, Sculptures and Drawings by Rodin, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1965-1966, no cat.

1981

  • Rodin Rediscovered, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1981-1982, no. 154.

2011

  • Rodin and America: Influence and Adaptation, 1876-1936, Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts, Stanford University, 2011-2012, fig. 27.

Bibliography

1927

  • Grappe, Georges. Catalogue du Musée Rodin. Paris, 1927: 83.

1944

  • Grappe, Georges. Catalogue du Musée Rodin. 5th ed. Paris, 1944: 104-105.

1965

  • Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 168.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 149, repro.

1976

  • Tancock, John. The Sculpture of Auguste Rodin. Philadelphia, 1976: 312-314.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 646, no. 1024, repro.

1988

  • Beausire, Alain. Quand Rodin Exposait. Paris, 1988: 31, 181, 195, 232-233.

1994

  • Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1994: 201, repro.

2000

  • Butler, Ruth, and Suzanne Glover Lindsay, with Alison Luchs, Douglas Lewis, Cynthia J. Mills, and Jeffrey Weidman. European Sculpture of the Nineteenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 2000: 363-366, color repro.

Inscriptions

on bottom right side of base: A. Rodin

Wikidata ID

Q63809264

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