Head of Balzac, model 1897, cast probably early 20th century

Inscription

on lower back in left corner: A. Rodin; sticker on the interior: MFA / Simpson

Provenance

Acquired 1903 from the artist by Mr. and Mrs. John W. Simpson, New York; gift 1942 to NGA.

Exhibition History

1908

Renaissance and Modern Bronzes, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1908, no. 167.

1946

Rodin: Sculpture, Drawings, Prints, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1946, no. 10.

1965

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

1974

Nineteenth-Century Sculpture, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1974, unnumbered checklist.

Bibliography

1898

Alexandre, Arsène. Le Balzac de Rodin. Paris, 1898.

1899

Ferry, Gabriel. "La statue de Balzac." Le Monde Moderne 10 (1899): 641ff.

1927

Grappe, Georges. Catalogue du Musée Rodin. Paris, 1927: 77-78.

1934

Morhardt, Mathias. "La bataille du Balzac." Mercure de France (15 December 1934): 463-489.

1936

Cladel, Judith. Rodin: Sa vie glorieuse, sa vie inconnue. Paris, 1936: 182-224.

1944

Grappe, Georges. Catalogue du Musée Rodin. 5th ed. Paris, 1944: 98-99.

1952

Goldscheider, Cécile. "La Genèse d'une oeuvre: La Balzac de Rodin." La Revue des Arts 1 (1952): 37-44.

1964

de Caso, Jacques. "Rodin and the Cult of Balzac." The Burlington Magazine 106 (1964): 279-284.

1965

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

1967

Descharnes, Robert, and Jean-François Chabrun. Auguste Rodin. Lausanne, 1967: 164-175.

1967

Spear, Athena Tacha. Rodin Sculpture in the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, 1967: 9-30, 91-93.

1968

National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 148, repro.

1973

Elsen, Albert E., Stephen C. McGough, and Steven H. Wander. Rodin & Balzac. Beverly Hills, 1973.

1976

Tancock, John. The Sculpture of Auguste Rodin. Philadelphia, 1976: 425-459.

1977

de Caso, Jacques, and Patricia B. Sanders. Rodin's Sculpture: A Critical Study of the Spreckels Collection. San Francisco, 1977: 237-241.

1986

Lampert, Catherine. Rodin: Sculpture & Drawings. Exh. cat. Hayward Gallery, London, 1986: 126-129.

1988

Beausire, Alain. Quand Rodin Exposait. Paris, 1988: 208, 210, 218, 219, 235, 242, 245, 253, 273, 315.

1993

Butler, Ruth. Rodin. The Shape of Genius. New Haven and London, 1993: 252-256, 285-294, 299-305, 315-329.

1994

Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1994: 203, repro.

1998

Le Normand-Romain, Antoinette. Le Balzac de Rodin. Paris, 1998.

1998

Porter, John R., and Yves Lacasse. Rodin à Québec. Quebec, 1998: 113-119.

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: 360-363, color repro.

2015

Barbour, Daphne, and Lisha Deming Glinsman. "August Rodin's Lifetime Bronze Sculptures in the Simpson Collection." Facture: conservation, science, art history 2 (2015): 54-81, fig. 3.

2023

De Margerie, Laure. French Sculpture: An American Passion. Ghent, 2023: 376.

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