Auguste Rodin
Figure II from “Vase of the Titans”
1876-1962
Scroll
Auguste Rodin
Figure II from “Vase of the Titans”
1876-1962
Physical Qualities
Bronze, 9 3/4 in. (24.8 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Wilton C. Dinges
Object Number
1964.26.9
This figure, as well as its partner on the Vase of
the Titans, reflects the dominant influence of
Michelangelo, whose powerfully muscled nudes from
the Sistine Chapel had impressed Rodin on his trip to
Rome in 1876. Shortly after his return, Rodin sculpted
his own Titans, twisting dramatically as they react to
their bondage after defeat by the Olympian gods. Like
Michelangelo’s Slaves, the figures are condemned to
eternal servitude. This theme prefigures Rodin’s
preoccupation with damnation in his great work the
Gates of Hell, begun in the next decade.
Rodin: Expression & Influence
John L. Tancock, "The Sculpture of Auguste Rodin: The Collection of the Rodin Museum Philadelphia," (Philadelphia: The Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1976) pp. 238-240.
Albert E. Elsen, "Rodin's Art: The Rodin Collection of Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts Stanford University," (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003) pp. 180-181.
H. W. Janson, 'Rodin And Carrier-Belleuse: The Vase Des Titans,' "The Art Bulletin" Vol. L, No. 3, September 1968, pp. 278-280.
