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Impressionist and Modern Art
|
- Sale 6379
Live
| New York
Oct 28 | 11:00 AM EDT
Live
| New York
Sale 6379
| New York
| New York
Estimate$5,000 – $7,000
We wish to thank Mme Christina Buley-Uribe for confirming the authenticity of the present lot when previously offered at auction, and which is set to be included in the forthcoming Auguste Rodin Catalogue Raisonné des Dessins et Peintures, under the archive number CRD 11111.
Provenance:
Property of Giancarlo Baroni, Switzerland.
His posthumous sale, Sotheby's, New York, sale of January 29, 2013, lot 68.
Acquired directly from the above sale by the present owner.
Lot Essay:
“It is quite simple: my drawings are the key to my work… I have drawn all my life; I started my life drawing,” declared Auguste Rodin ahead of his 1910 Paris exhibition (Les Dessins d’Auguste Rodin, cited in Judrin, Osterwold et al., Auguste Rodin: Aquarelles de la Collection du Musée Rodin, 2004, p. 9), underscoring the central role of drawing in his practice.
As he explained to the writer Antony Ludovici around 1900, drawing served as a means to “test” the connection between eye and hand—an instinctive process through which he internalized “the subtle secrets of the human form” (Personal Reminiscences of Auguste Rodin, 1926, pp. 138–9; cited in Elsen and Varnedoe, The Drawings of Rodin, 1972, pp. 85, 118). Less concerned with likeness, Rodin sought instead to capture motion and vitality. As journalist Mario Meunier observed in 1914, Rodin would draw without glancing at the paper, tracing the model’s movements in uninterrupted gestures before discarding the sheets to the floor—later reviewing, tracing, and occasionally coloring them (Les Marges, April 1914, pp. 250–1; cited in Judrin, Osterwold et al., p. 17).
The present drawing epitomizes Rodin’s shift from the dense, romantic style of the 1880s to a freer, more spontaneous approach. The contours are thin and fluid; the heavy brown washes give way to light, flesh-toned watercolor. Executed swiftly, often in a single continuous line against a blank sheet, the work achieves a clarity of form while preserving the immediacy and vitality of movement.
In overall fine to good condition. The sheet is affixed to the undermat via a page piece of white linen tape up top. The sheet is toned, with evidence of mat staining along the lateral edges, more so visible along the right outer edge (creating a discolored band of about 0 1/4 in. width). With three localized foxing marks at center left, in the background. Some of the wash, mostly at bottom center, has accumulated soiling in it, creating brown outlines around the wash itself. Small dent at center, on the woman's cloth. Evidence of surface soiling (droplets) at upper left corner and along the left outer edge. The verso presents wells, with remnants of old paper tape along the left outer edge, up top and at bottom right corner. With various foxing marks, which don't peer through the sheet and are not visible on the recto. The outline of the figure stands out on an otherwise toned background. When held up against the light, marks of a partial British watermark (with crown and scroll) are visible. Additional images available upon request.
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