The Age of Bronze | Cleveland Museum of Art

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The Age of Bronze, 1875-1876

Auguste Rodin (French, 1840-1917)

bronze, With base: 182.2 x 66.4 x 47 cm (71 11/16 x 26 1/8 x 18 1/2 in.). Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph King 1918.328

Location:

222 Impressionism & Post-Impressionism

Description

Rodin’s earliest surviving life-size sculpture, The Age of Bronze is an enigmatic and provocative image of a man awakening to new consciousness. The figure originally held a spear in one hand; by removing the weapon, Rodin stripped the sculpture of narrative symbols and focused on the sensuality and psychological power of the male nude. Contemporaries found the figure so realistic they falsely accused Rodin of making a cast from a living person. Museum trustee Ralph King commissioned this cast from the artist in 1916 with the intention of donating it to the museum. Rodin personally supervised the exceptionally fine casting and finished it with his favorite patina, a deep reddish tone he called “crushed grape.”

Inscription

inscribed top of base to right: Rodin; inscribed back of base: A. RUDIER Fondeur Paris.

Exhibition History

CMA 1987: Creativity in Art and Science, September 16-November 8, 1987, cat. no. 10, repr. p. 102
CMA 1991: Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum (Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art) cat. p. 28.
Akron Art Museum (1/25/2003 - 5/18/2003): "Rodin: A Magnificent Obession - Selections from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation"
CMA (organizer). Beijing World Art Museum, China, May 26 - Aug. 27, 2006; Mori Arts Center, Tokyo, Japan: Sept. 9 - Nov. 26, 2006; Seoul Arts Center, Seoul, Korea: Dec. 18, 2006 - March 31, 2007; Seoul Olympic Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea: Apr. 7 - May 20, 2007; Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: June 9 - Sept. 16, 2007; Cleveland Museum of Art, Oct. 21, 2007- January 13, 2008; Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, TN, Feb. 21-June 1, 2008; Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, UT, June 22 - September 21, 2008; and the Detroit Institute of Arts, MI, October 12, 2008 - January 18, 2009: "Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art"

Research

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