Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) - Lot 51

Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) Head of Saint John the Baptist in a dish Bronze with brown patina Sand casting Signed "A Rodin" on the reverse of the head, in the hair on the left Stamped "E .GODARD fondeur 2003" and numbered 7/8 on the back border. Size: 20 x 37.3 x 28 cm Provenance: private collection Estimate: €20,000 / €30,000 Related works: -Auguste Rodin, Tête de saint Jean-Baptiste dans un plat, 1893, marble, signed "A. Rodin" in the hair hair, dim. 19.8 x 38 x 30 cm, acquired by Léon Lhermitte in 1893; -Auguste Rodin, Tête de saint Jean-Baptiste dans un plat d'après le marbre de la collection Lhermitte, 1901, bronze, sand cast by François Rudier, dim. 21 x 41x 27 cm, Paris, Musée Rodin, inv. S 519; -Auguste Rodin, Tête de saint Jean- Baptiste dans un plat, avant 1952, bronze, sand casting, signed "A. Rodin" in the hair near the neck, bears the mark "A. Rodin" in relief inside, inscribed "Alexis RUDIER /Fondeur. Paris" on the base, back right, dim. 20 x 39 x 28.8 cm, Paris, musée Rodin, inv. S771. -Auguste Rodin, Severed Head of Saint John the Baptist, plaster, dim. 20.6 x 39.3 x 31.5 cm, Paris, Musée du Louvre, inv. du Louvre, inv. S.1807 Bibliography: -Antoinette le Normand Romain, Rodin et le bronze, catalog des oeuvres conservées au musée Rodin, Paris, RMN, 2007, vol. II, pp.645-646, our copy cited p.646 Salome, daughter of Herodias, asked her father for the head of St. John the Baptist, who had it delivered to her on a platter on a platter after his decollation. It is this episode from the New Testament that Rodin illustrates here. The subject, treated by a number of artists from the Renaissance to the Symbolists, fascinated Rodin. different versions in different materials. While one of these interpretations was incorporated intoLa Porte de l'Enfer, others are associated with hands. The head of the martyred saint is also placed on a platter or mounted as a pendant by jeweler Charles Rivaud (1859-1923) which Rodin presented to his biographer Judith Clavel (1873-1958) in 1910. Our bronze is based on the first marble version exhibited at the Galerie Georges Petit in 1889. Following this exhibition, the painter Léon Lhermitte expressed his wish in a letter addressed to Auguste Rodin on June 11, 1893, to "become better acquainted with the author of St. John" and to acquire the work. Jean" and to acquire the work. The marble copy acquired by the painter is characterized by a forehead; Rodin decided that the bronze edition would be made from this marble. from this marble. As confirmed by an exchange of letters between the Lhermitte heirs and the Musée Rodin dated dated March 17, 2003, our print is one of four numbered from 5/8 to 8/8 cast by E. Godard under the museum's supervision in 2003.